The Last Way
by Philippi.a
Summary: Hogwarts' students know what's happening beyond their safe castle, but like every young life, they endured to keep on. James' and Lily's story in their last few years in Hogwarts
1. Chapter 1

Students poured in night and day. In noisy masses or as free-standing singletons, the Common Room played its part as the room for the people, never failing to be sought out, not even in the most quiet, menacing times of a day.

For Gryffindor, this was a room exclusive to the most courageous and determined from each respective year, who are armed more than enough with their bravery, wit, and magical ability.

For Lily Evans, a girl of median height, who more often than naught finds herself initially getting characterized by her red hair (she has yet to decide whether she finds this annoying), she found the room truly magical for its ability to serve as the environment of the most vulnerable, dire secrets between two people amidst the crowded lounge- when really, they should belong behind the damp, ice cold, darkening brick stone walls at night in hushed tones, and still be the shelter of personal relaxation.

This is where Lily sought out comfort, unknowingly frowning to herself as she wondered to herself, sitting on one of the large, doughy chairs, which of Gryffindor's attributes she was supposed to embody the most.

And, where she soon found her musings distracted by boisterous shouts and laughter that were amplified once their sources made their way through their portrait guard, a retired chemist from the Enlightenment period with who she would at times have long chats with, leaning on the wall of the secret entrance.

The Gryffindor quidditch team must have just finished their practice. And, a successful one too, it would seem, from the vigor in their voices. They came in with a light-hearted confidence and have yet to change from their wind-ravaged uniforms.

Lily found him at the back, his height and disheveled hair making him quickly recognizable, and his signature grin was present, curling the corner of his lips as he spoke with his teammates.

She hadn't spoken to James since the _Snape_ incident. Since he sought her out the next day to ask if she was alright, to which she snapped, "Gloriously fine," without missing a step in her stride to her next class.

When just hours before, Sev had made her come out in the middle of the night to ask for her forgiveness.

How he simply even had the gall he _even ask_ for her to forgive him after what he had called her. His own childhood friend.

Her brow furrowed as she tried to stop her anger and sorrow from rising. She didn't need to ruin her day thinking about the boy who had become a terrible stranger. A stranger who couldn't be saved anymore- not even by her.

Lily soon saw round glasses turn to face her, as if the wearer sensed her oddly staring after him from across the room.

Hell. Lily darted her eyes away to look down by her lap.

_Why, why?_ She felt her face warm as she tried hard to look nonchalant, tapping her pointer finger furiously onto the soft cover of her book, the noise softly muffled. What's he going to think now?

She didn't need James Potter coming here thinking that was an invitation.

Should she look back to make this less humiliating? She should have just stared back cooly, sparing her this inner admonishment.

But, why was this embarrassing in the first place? What crime was it to look over at a person just coming in through the entrance.

Curiosity eventually had her dragging her eyes back over to where the group hung around.

And, she found him looking back at her with a small, knowing smile. Where it was charity or lack of interest, he made no mention to her. Their eyes only met for that brief moment, lasting several seconds, before he turned away first, re-immersing himself into the team's conversation.

II.

Fleamont Potter believed it was right to tell his son what was truly happening at this moment of their lives. He tried, warily, whenever he thought it was best to- be more abstract, over the more disturbing details.

What happened to those who were found after being announced missing from their families… The immoral words being spoken casually in conversation by associates of associates of his.

For all this, he needed to know his son was aware so that for what ever may cross his path, James will be prepared, and able to protect himself and his friends.

James chuckled darkly under his breath when he made his way past McGonagall furiously slicing off 200 hundred points from Slytherin. He's never heard her so angry, her voice piercing in an unfamiliar pitch.

"I've never seen such malicious behavior on the field in my entire life! Detention for a month! For all of you! I better not even hear you take a breath for arguing, Parkinson- You should all thank your head of house- **_profusely_**, for pleading on your behalf to be able to continue to play the sport _in this school_."

"You all right there, Potter?" Their beater, Alex Spinnet, called out, his face a mixture of pride and concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

James grinned victoriously, despite the pain shooting up from the right side of his face. Fucking hell that hurts.

"Good thing your blood stains are being hidden by your uniform."

James scoffed at Sirius' remark while he helped walk him to Madame Pomfrey. He didn't want those cheating rats from the other team thinking they did as much harm as they tried by seeing him carried out on a stretcher. "Yeah, small mercies."

He groaned loudly when his back finally collapsed down onto the hospital bed, his face contorted in pain. There was no where on his body where he wasn't feeling a throbbing burn from his joints. His eyes shut close and he half-listened to Pomfrey in her impassioned frenzy, cursing the sport of quidditch once again and the school for letting its students participate in the devil's cursed sport while she hurried to get all her supplies and examine him for all his injuries.

He let out a weak chuckle and was about to say something that was bound to irritate her further when he suddenly hissed, his spine straightening, his fists curling tight.

"Oh, don't you worry, Mr. Potter, you'll be glued back together soon enough, and be well enough to get broken out on that killing field- **_again_**," she assured him, impatiently, while her hands worked delicately on cleaning the blistering red wounds on his side.

"We've all warned him, Madame Pomfrey. Since the day he got himself a broom. But, well, he never really does listen to us," said Sirius, standing diligently by his friend's bedside.

"Oh, hush. Now, shoo, shoo." She hastily waved him and a couple of teammates who followed after them away with one hand, the other holding up a small vial of dark liquid. "He needs his rest. Poor boy can't even breath without a rattle in his throat."

"Isn't that a little bit of an exaggerat-," One boy began.

"_Out! Out!"_

James was in and out of consciousness- the last thing he heard was a soft voice near his bed asking how he was. He couldn't hear the response or distinguish the voice of the responder clearly, but he thought he heard something about a bleeding spine, which surely- that just doesn't sound… funny…

His heavy eyelids were insistent on staying closed, banishing light for as long as they can. He couldn't blame them either. Even though the room had darkened with the afternoon, the sunlight left over high above the room was enough to make him subtly grimace.

"You look worse than me."

James slowly turned his head to his right and saw his friend, Remus, sitting up in his own bed besides his.

Remus, with his warm and intelligent features and caring personality was one of the few that James considered his true friends.

"I'm sure even worse is waiting for me out there."

Remus' tired eyes curved. "There's no doubt of that."

James chuckled as best as he could before he felt a strong ache.

"Want me to call for Pomfrey?"

"Bloody idiots," James cursed the Slytherins under his breath.

"On it."

The next time James woke up, his eyes were still closed when he felt the faintest brush on his cheek. It was so soft and quick, he thought perhaps he had imagined it.

_He didn't hit his head that hard._

Then, he felt it again, but lower this time, tracing a line down towards his jaw.

He opened his eyes and found himself blinking up at the face of Lily Evans. Even without his glasses, she was the one girl he could recognize, blind or not.

Damn, his hallucinations are stunning.

"Sorry," she apologized in a voice just louder than a whisper. "I didn't mean to. Did that hurt?" Her face showed only concern and a bit of guilt as she searched his face. She was sitting beside him in a chair pulled over, one hand still held up in the air.

He shook his head.

She watched him, worriedly. "If it's all right, I'm going to put this over your bruise here," she held up a small jar in her other hand and gestured towards where the giant purpling mark had bloomed. "It's to numb the pain."

"Go for it."

She did. More hesitant than before now that he was awake, but once her fingers touched the surface of his skin again, she was able to easily smooth the the tiny dab to its extent. Pomfrey had warned her that more than a coin-sized amount could result in paralyzing him before she dashed off to help her other ward.

Lily was a bit taken aback when Pomfrey took her up on her offer when Lily asked if she needed an extra hand or two, as she usually never lets anyone other than her care for her patients, but Lily was glad to help.

She had come down to visit Remus and keep him company, knowing the night he had yesterday and knowing his friends were going to be more preoccupied than usual with Gryffindor's game today.

She heard about what a harsh game it was today, but when she walked in the hospital wing and saw James' injuries- he looked as if he had been attacked and thrown off a mountain.

"How badly does it hurt?"

A corner of his lips faintly curved. "It's passing."

"Hmm... you shouldn't feel any pain on your face anymore… If it still hurts after a couple of minutes, let me know."

"'Course." He wished he could speak more than monosyllables but his mind just wasn't ready for that yet. It was half occupied with the feel of her touch of all things.

Lily quietly got up and with a genuine, but slightly awkward smile, she placed the jar at his bedside, fixed her long hair back behind her shoulders, and walked around his bed to the other side.

"I've become a nurse," she joked to Remus, who had been surprising the urge to grin widely for James. She sat at the bottom of Remus' bed, her feet dangling over, and picked up the book she had left there when Pomfrey handed her over the ointment.

"Turns out I did drop the book in the hall, thank God I found it- though I'm sure no one picked it up because no one's as interested as us in magical renaissances."

James grinned to himself, listening to those two chat on about some philosopher and his rumored unorthodox habits.

Lily kept glancing over at James throughout and eventually asked, "James- is your face feeling better?"

Truth be told, he didn't like the numb feeling at all. It felt like he was carrying the snitch inside the left side of his mouth.

The rapid footsteps of Madame Pomfrey came towards them then and she examined over James and his healing body again. "Awake I see, Mr. Potter. It'll do you more good if you got as much sleep as you can. No more than the size of a sickle, Miss Evans?"

"Yes, Madame Pomfrey." She leaned forward a little to watch.

"Good, very good. Well then, Mr. Potter. Welcome back to the living. You're recovering quick enough, but not that quick. Don't think you can expect to go out there again so soon. Three weeks should do it for you."

"Three weeks_,_" he sighed, pitifully.

"And, not an hour less," she said, sternly. "Now, take this before you go to bed. One spoonful should do it. Make sure you take it, Mr. Potter. I'll know if you don't."

"Don't worry, Madame Pomfrey. I'll make sure he does," Lily assured her.

After Hogwart's white-uniformed saint left them, Remus asked James how he managed to get himself so beat up during the match.

Lily listened on quietly. James told them that the opponent side had decided to add a new few, illegal tricks to their book, probably because they were getting desperate for their chance to make it to the finals after they had lost their last three games.

James had made sure he got the worst of it by getting himself in the middle of every ambush he could, made by the other team towards his teammates.

Lily couldn't decide if that was supremely, foolishly, reckless of him or gallantly admirable…

"Do you think winning is really worth it?" she asked, aloud. The moment she spoke, she inwardly cringed, thinking she shouldn't have said something insensitive out loud. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-,"

Remus laughed.

"Worth this, you mean? I can only tell myself it is," James joked, his voice still fatigued. "Maybe I'll know in three weeks."


	2. Chapter 2

She stared very displeasingly at the dark and barren shelves right in front of her nose.

_My God, that's a lot of dust_, she grimaced at the soft, white film that covered each shelf entirely, from the shelf down by her toes, all the way up to the top board that was held up just above her head. With her fingers still gripping the knobs of the cabinet doors she kept open, she turned her head to the side to call out to her professor.

"Professor Slughorn."

Looking up from the lab table at her right, where he stood over three of his students, who were all unnaturally and overly focused in their assignment, Horace Slughorn's traditionally jolly voice replied.

"Yes, Ms. Evans?"

"Professor, you seem to be all out of blue-webbed duck feet in this closet, too."

"Goodness. We're all out then, I'm afraid."

Her fingers shut the doors with a decent thud. "Oh."

Her moss-green eyes flickered over to Marlene McKinnon, Lily's lab partner and one of her closest friends, who coughed out a laugh from their table.

"What should I do then, professor?"

"Don't you worry, dear girl, don't you worry. We'll figure something out- ah, Avery. Yes, you, Avery, for heaven's sake." Slughorn let out a few chuckles and Lily grinned for his behalf.

"You seem to be in early stages yet- share your webbed foot with your classmate here, if you will, please. Your two groups will just have to make half the amount assigned."

Lily kept her smile on until she was out of Slughorn's view.

Quite an uncomfortable solution to their problem, isn't it.

She curved around the desks in her Potions classroom and her peers. When she passed Remus' table, he looked up at her and grinned, charmingly. Only slight remnants of his fatigue remained now.

"Oh, shut it," she whispered, with a smile already widening her lips.

Reaching Avery's desk, she lifted her hand when he readily handed over the sliced half of her missing ingredient.

"Thanks," she said, evenly. She felt a subtle glare from his partner.

_Expected… oh, can't amuse yourself now. Don't, _she sternly lectured herself.

She gave a straight stare right back at him before leaving.

Marlene still couldn't put a hamper down on her amusement and snorted when she came back around.

"Well, what-an-adventure." She clapped thrice for each word.

She leaned very much forward on the table, her dark blond head jutted up in her hands, beaming up at Lily, her elbows supporting her arms up.

Lily started arranging all their ingredients in a row and placed the cutting board in front of her. "I hope you're having your fun now, Marlene, because guess who'll be fetching the amputated aquatic feet this Friday?"

"It's you," she replied back with a pleased grin. "I'm much too frail-tempered for this sort."

"I promise you, McKinnon." Lily unscrewed a small glass jar filled with a dusty, grey, powder that glimmered where the light touched it. "I'm going to grab another lab partner as soon as we're finished with this."

"Please. As if you would give up the one person who cleans up after you, because one of your biggest faults, Miss Evans, is that you _always manage,_" she sang out. "-_to leave something of yours behind_, despite the circumstance."

"Knife."

With a clean flip of her wrist, Marlene happily handed it over.

II.

After Gryffindor's win, tension between houses have grown perceptibly. Accusations and mutterings that stemmed from the match of lacked dignity built resentment between houses, but tension now spread beyond Slytherin.

House pride and solitude grew as teams practiced with vigilance and cynicism, the result leading to each house forming hardened shields, including the general masses in their unrest. Few were less eager to seek out the opposite house as they customarily had.

This tension, coupled with the sunless clouds that have been tied to the skies above for weeks now, have made the atmosphere inside the castle grey and black.

James had half a mind to let the current downpour of rain succeed in drenching him to his bloody death. Like it was doing to his textbook right now. Sat under a tree during the storm, Remus was behind him reading without taking a break for breathing, and Sirius had passed out within minutes of settling down on the grass.

In his brooding mood, James couldn't comprehend how his professors expected him and his classmates to give a single care on Earth or heaven of what their future NEWT scores should turn out to be. How can they emphasize the use of stellar NEWT scores when here and out, their world was grim.

He'd rather sit in a 152 straight-hour game of wizard's chess with Filch then go take his useless exams.

James scoffed and rested back on his palms spread back behind him, staring out into the Black Lake under his charm reflecting the storm above him.

His thoughts had become heavy from his mother's recent letter. Her script gifted him her usual musings and love. And, yet her paragraph spoke everything she didn't.

_… __invited to lunch and found ourselves seated next to a high supporter of yours, Mr. de Morgan- he asked if you've started digging your own lake after hearing about your tiny dorm room incident. Words truly do find their way around, even all the way to the Education Department. _

_He's even extended an invitation to us all for a visit to his lodge in the country in August, but I'll leave this to you and Sirius to discuss._

_Mr. de Morgan also informed your father that the Ministry is planning on sending a couple of aurors to the castle grounds. The number isn't yet resolute, but the orders have been sent._

_I couldn't help but find it quite humorous thinking of you taking your exams with a Ministry auror standing formidably over your shoulder._

_I only carry the greatest love and support for you, my darling. You must know your father and I are proud every…_

James re-read his mother's sentence almost ten times. Ministry aurors.

Aurors arriving here soon only means the world outside was falling quicker than they ignorantly hoped.

III.

James decided to seek out Lily as soon as he saw her walking amidst the sea of students trapped inside the halls.

"Where are you going?" Sirius called after him.

"I'll find you guys later."

Thunder had begun to rumble above them and it had started to rain harder, a never ending drum, further barricading them all into the center of the hall, as if they were afraid of being burnt from water.

He was feeling increasingly impatient at the crowd separating them. They were only succeeding in _slowing him down._

_Blast it, _he scowled when someone unintentionally jabbed his side, weakening his knee for a brisk moment.

He muttered an old, but trusted jinx under his breath, and a couple of students before him suddenly levitated off the ground. The spell only lasts under ten seconds, and it's good fun. Partially. Strange guilt aside, he took advantage and wove his way down the hall.

His steps echoed as he jogged up the stairs and finally slowed when he made it beside her on the second landing as she stood waiting for the next stairway to approach.

Sensing the new presence, Lily looked up, her earthy, moss-tinted eyes fixing on him.

Then, she narrowed them at his, right through his round glasses.

"Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

He breathed in and out, his easy, signature smile there. "I am."

_As he pants like he's just come from a run around the grounds._

She pursed her lips to the side and briefly looked down before looking back up at him. He was dripping water.

_Did he?!_

"How are you feeling?" she asks, instead. "I stopped by the hospital wing the next morning, actually. But, you were already gone. And, Remus said he wasn't even able to catch you leaving."

His cuts have been mostly healed, only leaving behind pink scars. His body functioned with only a resulting wince when he moved too fast, and aesthetically, the rest of him he was left with only remaining yellow bruises.

James let himself enjoy the way she was staring up at him, _beautifully curious, that one_,- until they had to climb up the next flight, conversation pausing briefly before climbing the last stone steps, reaching her floor.

"Everything's still adequate," he said for appeasement. "Pomfrey has me making visits to her every day ever since she let me go."

"Oh, so she did let you go. You didn't make a premature escape?"

"Why would you believe I could outrun Pomfrey?"

That got her to laugh.

James grinned satisfactorily, watching her.

"Well, I hope you are- not fleeing from her, but seeing her everyday... so, you're really alright, then."

"Yeah." His hand reached for his disordered, dark hair. Not even water could tame Potter's hair. She tried to not smirk when he did so. "There's only a lasting twinge here and there when I move a certain way, but Pomfrey said it should subside within the month. I've come to trust her word, she's never failed us, after all…"

James leaned carefully against the wooden railing that gated the floor, just a couple steps away from the stairs.

Her eyes drifted over to his book he held.

"Why have you done this?" she asked.

"To what? This?" He lifted it to examine it, weighing the book in his hand.

"You've drowned it."

"Oh, it's nothing a bit of evaporation can't fix…" he assured her, letting her take it in her pale hands. "Some sunlight. A fire."

She almost dropped it from how dense it had gotten from the rain. She has this book, she could have easily held it between two fingers.

"You don't need to worry about me, you know."

She simply raised her brow at _that_ statement.

"I mean, you did play a part in healing me."

_"Oh God, Potter."_

"It was _you_ who put that balm on me, wasn't it? You did a good job. Wait, no, I'm serious, yeah- aesthetically wise, I still wear a couple marks, but on the inside..." he gestured to his face where her fingers had lightly touched him. "...just wanted to say thanks."

"Oh, James, you shouldn't have to thank me."

"Maybe," he shrugged. "But, you didn't have to help out Pomfrey with me. You could have even poisoned it if you wanted to."

Lily opened her mouth, both taken aback and amused. Of all the…

She hit his arm with his book before she could remember his recuperating body. "What- why would I do that? Why would I even think of doing that?"

"_Ow!_ Kidding, _I'm kidding!_ C'mon, we all know I'm not your first choice of people you'd rather be around with."

She let out an incredulous scoff, swiftly flipping her hair back over her shoulder with her hand. "That's hardly reason for me to poison you. I have no desire to go to Azkaban, you know."

"I'm proud of that."

She held out his book. "Here. Take it. Before I hit you again."

His grin spread up on one side, tapping the book against his hand. "I'll see you."

"Mhmm..."


	3. Chapter 3

Lily finger-combed through her long hair, arranging her autumnal red strands high on her head to tie up into a pony tail. It was a constant bother repeatedly pushing it past her ears when she had to keep lowering herself down closer to the wooden floors.

Remus' calm but argumentative tone sounded behind her. "-deserves to hear this. Absolutely no one. This is just you trying sound like some enlightened schismatic."

"Don't you see now why I had initially pegged you to be a devout? Listen to yourself-"

As her head was bent low, Lily's scoff of amusement was the only sign of her actively listening to Remus argue with Sirius. She crouched by one of the many empty stadium seats above the expansive Quidditch pitch.

Remus was missing his assignment and thinking he had left it where he had last remembered seeing it, he decided to take the trek outside to the field with Lily gladly accompanying him.

Then, Sirius came upon them and came along with them.

It's _so_ different though. She's so unaccustomed to the still stadium around them, completely bereft of sound waves- aside from the ones they were making. Bereft seats. No commentators, no administrators, no spectators, no players.

And, it's almost eerie how quiet is.

Plainly speaking, it looks quite sad.

She leaned forward to look down at the middle of the empty pitch, its ends never ending the closer she approaches.

Empty... Instantly inspiration hits. Wouldn't it be great to take advantage of such an opportunity before her? Such freedom in great, unusual spaces has to sound enticing.

"You're more than aware that I'm contently not and I'm not going to argue with you over the-"

Barely listening now, she wanted to finish the search more quickly now. She looked under two more sections of seats, when she spotted something all the way at the end of the box.

_Yes!_

"Remus," she turned around to look over at them, interrupting Remus mid-speech. She straightened up while wearing an uncontainable, proud smile, tucking her wand back in her pocket.

She lifted her hand, holding up the parchment roll held together by a small, blue wax seal . "It's mine now."

She slowly spun around as they walked further onto the stadium field.

Lily had talked the two into following her down her curiosity's path. Her trainers made soft imprints in the beige sand around them, mixed with small sections of grass. Her neck held her head high as she observed above. She raised her hand to cast a shadow over her eyes. How dauntingly high they sat up in the towering stands from the ground below.

Can you even imagine falling from the sky without any resistance, from such high- saints, they bloody do, don't they.

Quidditch players need to be vastly far more respected. Talk about bravery, her learning on how to fly on a broom in class is nothing compared to what they do in training.

"Why haven't you been here before?" Sirius asked her. His dark hair, wavy and sort-of long, was gently being pushed back by the wind that was coming in. Paired with his wardrobe today in various darks, it all made him appear mysterious.

He wasn't so impressed by what they were looking at, but that shouldn't be a surprise. He's most likely been here countless times with James.

"You've been to the matches," he continued.

"But, I haven't actually stood in the middle of the field. I've had no reason to- and, _you_ especially can't blame me when you've never invited me here on one of your many visits."

That earned a good hearted chuckle for Remus, who looked around with her.

"Yeah, I know you, Lily Evans," Sirius wagged his finger, walking closer to them. "You wouldn't have accepted even if I did extend one. You're too vain."

"Dignified, do you mean?" she airily corrected.

"Is that James?" Remus suddenly asked, his body facing the other side.

_James_?

It was him. His identifiable figure strolling towards them. His clear, round spectacles sent out a brief sharp reflection of light, before she can make out his eyes. A warm hazel.

She's never told anyone, but she always found his eyes comforting. It's mad, I know, but when I look up at them, they're always- kind. Yes, I'm going to keep that word. Sincerely kind.

_But, how was he able he find us all here?_

She stilled for a moment while she was watching him approach, but started wandering again once he got closer.

"Why am I finding you three together here?"

_Hmm. Same minds_. She smiled to herself, her face not completely facing him.

"We've just finished our hunt," Remus answered him, tapping his hand with his parchment roll he held delicately in his other. "Lily miraculously found it. This has to be handed in first thing tomorrow."

"Bravo," James clapped good-heartedly. He was quick to lose focus, though, when he glanced past Remus to Lily, who partially had her back turned to him.

Both Remus and Sirius knew where James' attentions wanted to lie. And, so to create an opportunity for him, Sirius re-engaged Remus in their earlier argument they simply weren't fortunate enough to finish before.

"Do you see that stand over there-"

Over her shoulder, Lily listened to James' lone approaching voice.

"-the one at the front, draped in blue and grey?"

She pointed with her finger over to the tower northwest to her.

"That one over there?"

"Yes. _That_ marks the spot of where I made my first disastrous blunder during a match. I don't know if you remember. It was in our second year, when I foolishly thought I was far more skilled than I realistically was. I was so confident that when I sent that bludger through that golden hoop, the tallest one of the three, I was all too ready to accept all of our house's cheers... of course, it would turn out that I had been overly focused in simply scoring a point for myself, that I had made the profound mistake of sending the bludger through the first hoop I can find."

Lily searched through her memory to see if she can recall the scene he described.

"I _think_ I remember it," she remarked, looking up at him. "But, barely. I've never- all my memories of you- _playing for our team- _it's all a blur. You've played far too much and scored too many points that all your achievements since seem to hold the majority of my Quidditch memories."

She watched him let out a breath from his chest. "I haven't the faintest idea why, but I think that just reassured something in me." His eyes met hers.

She let her amusement show.

His smile grew and he nodded his head to the side. "C'mon. We should go to supper."

She was feeling a little reluctant to leave.

The moment she had came down to the field, she had a diverting urge to run as fast as she could across the clear field. _Inane, I know, but why not give into the impulse?_

"Humor me?" she merely asked of him, her only warning.

Seconds later, she was ten feet away from him, dashing off without slowing down, and without any more hesitation, he eagerly gave chase.

II.

Candles and torches burned gloriously above down the entire hall. Rows of endless, beautifully displayed dishes were presented, and crowded seats filling rapidly with students energized by the show of the feast coupled with reconvening with all their house members at the end of the day to listen to their journey for the day made supper at the Great Hall one of the happiest events that occurred daily.

Lily sat across from James tonight.

Something that's surely happened before, but this time was unlike the others.

Her smile was permanent on her lips throughout the meal- she was glowing as she listened to their friends rib each other on, bring up old stories, as her eyes, bright and wide, never wavered from James when he spoke. She had to hide behind her hand when he made her laugh while she was in the midst of chewing.

She looked upon him confidently.

She'd glance over at him and her smile would spread wider.

She was completely herself.

This was how it drastically registered in Severus' mind, as he walked away from his table with his house mates, away from her, where she glowed in her happiness, severed from her resolutely from his foolish mistake.

Their courses have shifted exactly in the way he saw forthcoming and attempted to prevent.

James Potter was bound to seek a larger role in her life.

III.

"Oh, ho," Lily swallowed down the disgusting, amethyst liquid.

She shook her head with a horrible grimace, eventually dropping her face down atop the table. _Why, oh, why. Merlin, what a **colossal **mistake._

Speaking to her lap, her eyes squeezed shut, she declared, "That is vile."

All she heard in response was Marlene's laughter, so entertaining was her suffering.

"Alice, where'd you say Frank got this from?" Marlene asked, leaning forward in her seat to grab the empty vial, before settling back down in her seat inside their venue's booth.

The Three Broomsticks was a rustic, historic tavern that was able to be considered charming only due to the plentiful sunlight that brightened the atmosphere through the windows that surrounded the dwelling.

A juxtaposition to Hogwart's grandeur and ancient brilliance.

Alice was trying to be more sympathetic by trying but failing to suppress her smile. "Frank got it from Julius, I think. Homemade."

Lily threw her head back up, her expression still disturbed, her eyes still shut. "Evil in its pure extracted form. I have to tutor in fifteen minutes," she lamented.

"Well, you proved me wrong, Lily. Truly. You are the most fearless out of all of us," Marlene conceded graciously, adding a little bow and a turn of her wrists.

"If I think on it longer, though," Alice said, thoughtfully. "I can only see this act of drinking contraband whiskey speaking more of her hotheaded recklessness."

"This is what being prideful gets you."

"_That is not whiskey_. And, you two baited me."

Her argument wouldn't stand though against them though.

They left not so long after, still teasing her about her hotheadedness.

Lily really did have to tutor. She started meeting with a fifth year Potion's pupil, Alex Spinnet, who approached her at breakfast one day by Slughorn's recommendation to help him prepare for his OWLs.

And, she really liked him. He had curly, chestnut-colored hair, with innocent, cheery features. He couldn't ever look mean if he tried.

They were a bit shy around each other at first, but she was able to latch on to his easy-going personality quickly, and they became good friends. He's even in their house's quidditch team. He kept ridiculously joking that he could get her the best seats with the faculty at their games.

Such a liar, she'd mock endearingly.

By the time he had found her, Lily had moved to the other side of the room to a smaller table with two time-worn, wooden chairs, right next to a large window.

And, for the hour and a half, they'd share a platter of chips, run through what Professor Slughorn taught for the week, argue briefly about muggle television- his mother is a muggle, but never let him watch, and create little ways to memorize all the correct ways to handle ingredients for each respective potion.

"How do you possibly remember all of this?" he asked her, shutting his book closed with his sheets of notes sticking out of the pages.

"I don't," she said, smiling, as she stood up. "I borrowed a textbook from Professor Slughorn earlier."

"Okay, you don't need to be modest around me. You have a real talent in this. You're not like those guys who boast about how great of a potion maker they are just to prove how brilliant in magic they are."

"I think it's because I just enjoy Potions," she gave her opinion, giving it some thought. "That's most likely the reason why I remember what I can- because, I find the topic interesting. Isn't that how that goes? You're in the quidditch team- how? Because, you're talented in the sport, and you're talented because you have an affinity towards it," she hypothesized. "I'm taking the last chip." Picking it up with her two fingers, she brought it to her mouth, looking quite satisfied with herself.

"How's your liver?" he asked, knowingly. She had told him about her earlier self-poisoning.

"I hope it's healing." She opened the front door and stepping outside in the colder air. She looped her scarf around her neck.

"I'll see you next week?"

"Yes, ma'am. Great job today!"

"Yeah, okay," she laughed as she she turned around to leave.


	4. Chapter 4

I.

James stayed behind after the class ended. Amongst the noise of chairs rapidly scrapping back against the floor, the growing sound of conversation amongst his classmates, James sat behind his desk, taking his time to close his books, except his notes, and packing away the rest of his things. He nodded to a few friends and said he'll catch up with them later.

"Ready, then?"

He looked up to find her beaming, standing in front of his desk, her books standing atop it.

"I've jotted down about a dozen questions," James replied as he stood and pushed in his chair, his mood equivalent to hers.

"Perfect, I've only managed to come up with three," Lily responded, walking besides him down the few, dark marble steps to the front where their professor sat behind his desk, organizing his notes. The vast room needed to seat only thirty students, which the space easily allowed. The tallest of book shelves lined the walls, holding books with leather covers and golden letters on the spine all the way to the ceiling.

This had become their tradition of sorts. For weeks now, they've stayed after their Alchemy class to discuss with their professor what he went over that day. What began as just a simple ask from Lily to take a glance at James' notes ultimately became this half hour session in badgering their professor with clarification questions and debates, where their professor often took the position of mediator.

"Hello, Professor Cuprum," Lily greeted first.

"Ah. My two favorite students..."

All was said and done when their professor had to prepare for his upcoming next class. Few tears were shed, those few coming from James when he found it toppling hysterical that Lily had thought their professor had said in his lecture, "niffler's liquid gold emissions," rather than the correct "nano liquid gold immersion."

"No wonder..." She could have dropped dead of embarrassment right then.

She leaned on the door to keep it open while James finished up asking him a last-minute question.

"Thanks," James grinned when he reached the door.

"Of course," she said gladly. "I really like him."

"Who, our professor?"

They turned into the main corridor on the floor with plenty of younger-years rushing to get their classes.

"Yes, he never minds us taking up his time. And, he's always takes our questions seriously, even if they're ridiculous."

"You shouldn't worry about that, you can just work on asking better questions," he joked, arrogantly.

She rolled her eyes, wearing a mocking smile. "Oh, because yours are so much better than mine."

"It's 'quantity over quality.'"

She took a moment to go over that in her head, stopping by the last door on the right. "It's- _what_?"

He leaned on the wall on the other side of the door.

"Don't try to make sense of it, you can just believe me."

"That's _completely_ totalitarian of you to say."

"Hi Lily, hello," Hufflepuff's prefect, Louisa Agnew greeted them both as she approached the door to the Prefect's room.

"Sorry, Lily, do you mind if I ask you something before the meeting? I wanted to ask you about the schedule."

"Not a problem. I'll see you?" Lily asked him as she made to enter the room.

James raised his hand, waiting for her to smack her hand with his. "See you later, Evans."

* * *

II.

"James!"

The excited cry had him turning his head over his shoulder, aiming to see who was calling him.

His eyes widened and he had only a second to let his instincts take charge of his body to catch a girl, who suddenly emerged from behind a pair of Ravenclaws with a red cloud behind her, and he found himself immediately immersed.

His hands caught her firmly around her waist, her head tucked in the space between his jaw and shoulder.

His mind had to quickly catch up before he said with astonishment and a laugh, "Bloody hell, Lily. You moved so fast it took me a second to recognize who you were."

She quickly leaned herself back to peek up at his face. She practically attacked him, she thought gleefully. She was much too happy to be self-conscious now.

"_James_, _we-_ oh shoot, sorry-" His glasses needed a bit of adjustment. She took a moment to fix the round spectacles, then beamed, feeling accomplished. "There. Hello! Pardon us," she briefly digressed as she cheerily greeted his mates he was walking with, who seemed to have all stopped with him, all of them grinning at the scene in front of them, with most of them greeting her back. She recognized most of them from their Quidditch team.

"James!" She slapped his shoulder in excitement. His arms still hugged her close to him as he carefully balanced her down on her feet. "Our Apparition tests are this week!"

"_What?_"

"This week! They moved the date up- we can be fully certified! You can apparate wherever, _whenever_ you want to now!"

"Is this really why you're so ecstatic?"

"Yes! That, and also-" she reached down to her pocket in her robes and brought out a folded piece of parchment. James had let her go, but kept one arm over her shoulders. "I stopped by Professor McGonagall's office to deliver the some meeting notes and, of course, I couldn't help but ask her if she had been able to finish grading our papers and she said she did, which led to me asking her if I can please see our grade, and she let me take it!" She held the paper open and brought it straight to his face, just right on his nose.

There it was, the blatant but elegant "O" in McGonagall's writing on their first collaborative paper.

He squeezed her shoulder and brought her in closer, shaking her lightly. "Ay, look at that! Bloody brilliant, that is!"

"_Isn't it?!" _The two torturous, horrid sleepless nights were absolutely worth it!

"We need to celebrate- let's throw a party- _tonight_."

"You're mad," she laughed out delightfully, her head tilting back. "Do you mean to throw a party in the library? Where we are to finish up our paper on _magical roots in art?_"

"Weekend then," he announced, with such a deliberately charming smile. "Right after our Apparition tests, we can go celebrate in Hogsmeade." His hazel eyes gazed down warmly at her. "What do you think?"

"Marvelous," she agreed mirthfully.

"Fantastic. Oh, and you can have _avant-garde_. I've decided to go with medieval," he explained, regarding their assignment.

"I was going to go through with it anyway, but thank you, for your approval," she replied, caustically. She gave a goodbye wave to his teammates waiting ahead.

"Where are you headed now?" he asked when she started to walk back in the direction she came from.

"Come with us for lunch?" he went on to ask, his voice growing louder as she kept walking.

"I've got office hours!" She turned back briefly. "I'll see you in Defense!"

He saw her rush off with her robes having to catch up behind her.

"_C'mon, Potter_," his teammate eventually called out.

He lingered a bit before going back over, and took in all their jokes with a grin.

"Look at him, he's bloody besotted with her."

* * *

III.

"Why did we ever become friends?" James asked as he pressed the stamp firmly into the hot, red wax.

"I can tell you exactly when actually," Lily declared, reading the contents of one of the many howlers piled on the table. "I overheard you talking about trade secrets and figured it was time to wise up and use you as my key in investing."

James was intrigued. "Do you really trade in the markets?"

She smiled as she made fun of herself. "Barely. Comically, I have just one stock in Minerals and Natural Materials. I'm pretty sure Frank helped set it up for me in fourth year when he was showing me his letters."

James let out a single loud laugh and set the sealed envelope on top of the growing pile. "Oh, how you make me laugh."

"I make you laugh? Shouldn't it be the other way around?" she asked, cheekily, glancing over at the side of his face.

She found herself linger a little longer than necessary on his eyes.

"If you think I have anything smart to say about investing, then I can only laugh at your poor instinct to place your trust in me," James blithely answered.

"Oh, _shut_-_up." _Her lips parted in amusement.

She folded the letter with its jarring, large font back into place again and placed it in his hand for him to seal.

She sat here, in the empty classroom that had been vacated just an hour ago after their last class ended, after being roped in, albeit not quite reluctantly, to aid James in an unnecessary, but amusing prank they'd conjured up together. It was all said in the hypothetical sense, in a hypothetical conversation they were having at lunch the other day, nothing she had said had she actually been considering to do, but James rather liked this one too much.

_"It's relatively benign," _he had so reasoned to her then.

"Do you want to know why I figured we'd fit well as friends?" James asked presently, leaning over to ready the wax again.

James was wearing his own dark, emerald green jumper, including his own brown trousers. Both of them were quick to ditch the uniform before meeting here. It's curious she finds that when he wears his casual clothes, he somehow looks more put together than when he's wearing their uniform.

"Go ahead," she said with a confident jut of her chin.

James grinned and his hand flew up to his hair.

"You're honest," he said, glancing over to catch her reaction - as if he expected her to look surprised.

And, that was very honest of him to say as well, she thought. And, quite touching. "Certainly, I try to be. But, I'm also a pathetic liar- you know this."

"What I meant was more in the sense of you telling me off whenever you feel like it. Also, you crack under respectable pressure."

"I'm not the only one who tells you off, Remus and Sirius do it all the time. And,_ respectable pressure_?" she wondered.

"You're right. Huh. Makes you wonder why I prominently remember your lectures rather than theirs."

"Oh, I think I may know the answer," she raised her hand. "Maybe it's because you're a rotten friend?"

"Right again, miss. Pardon, you asked about-"

"-you called it '_respectable pressure_,'" she finished what he was about to say.

"Yeah, I did- you could pull off an act with Sirius, for instance," James lifted another finished howler between his fingers to show his point. "You'd win bloody actress of the year. But, you'd crack like a raw egg with all that yolk of truth spilling out in front of Dumbledore or McGonagall."

She laughed at his ridiculous simile.

"Good job."

"Knew I did a good one with that one," he so humbly accepted the compliment. "Alright, I've said my piece."

"I'll say mine then," she bravely said. Well, she thought it was quite brave of her. Especially since she found herself beginning to like him. She tucked her hair behind her ear, not yet ready to say it staring at him straight on. "I think we were able to become friends because, well, I suppose I like the way you speak to me."

Go on then, Lily, she rallied herself. Can't just leave it like that.

"You're very encouraging, you know," she added thoughtfully, now thinking aloud as she spoke. "You can also be a wanker, which awfully amuses me. It truly is awful. But, I suppose our humors match up well." She folded up another letter in the red envelope. "And, even if you are being a right prat, you're kind as well."

It's been obvious that the fewer, rude pranks he's been up to this year was done on a more targeted, unpleasant crowd that aspired to be Death Eaters. He still shouldn't be doing them, but his defense he uses is that he only acts in response.

James listened attentively to her. He was expecting the worst, ready to take it all in good humor, but this... His grin had his lips curving at one side.

"It's no wonder we're sitting here now, is it?" he said, sportively, his fingers idly playing with the stamp.


	5. Chapter 5

I.

It's needless to say, students at Hogwarts came from nearly every single background imaginable, with wealth an invisible disparity guaranteed within the student body.

Lily observed... hopefully not so blatantly, each person who passed by, students and even Madame Pomfrey, and attempted to determine who, perhaps, grew up with or has more funds, or those who may have or grown up with a lesser amount.

She let out an inward, tired sigh. She didn't like doing this at all. It's certainly one of the more shallow, unfounded things she's ever done.

Is this really what Petunia does constantly?

Lily exhaustively blew out air from her pursed lips. Her latest letters from her family slipped from her fingers to her lap. Crisp, white, spotless hospital sheets moved beneath her as she turned around and crossed both her legs over the sheets as she moved closer to the middle of the bed.

She looked back at Remus, whose head rested on the cot's pillow, his face re-acquainted with tiredness.

He had arrived to the hospital wing two nights ago, early in the morning when the castle and skies were still dark, waiting for morning colors to awaken them.

"Another brief telegram from Petunia," she said, wittily.

"Oh no. What troubled mess has she gotten into this time?"

The mood around them lightened from their ridiculous speech. They both knew Petunia would be the last person to digress from social and legal rules.

"She's fancied herself in love."

"Really? Is this with the same bloke your mum and dad met last month?" Remus asked.

"You know, I don't really think he's all that bad." She leaned her face in one hand, her long hair falling over her face before she pushed it back.

"You like him?" Remus asked, not hiding his surprise.

She'd only met him for a few minutes over the break at the front of her house. And, not really at all, no. Not by that first impression. Or by her sister's descriptions.

"He's really not... well, I don't know. Their personalities are almost identical, Remus. _Identical_."

She sat up straighter. "This is going to sound awful. But, I wonder if it's Petunia who's encouraging him to be so seemingly vain. If they each met different people, I highly doubt they'd be so- them. She's writing all this of him being one of the youngest men ever to be hired into the company, which- _alright..._" she noted with a touch of sarcasm. "And, all this about him being perfect because he's planning on buying her everything she wants that everyone else has. On and on..."

Remus grinned as he looked up at the ceiling. "I think she's a little more status-orientated. Not that that's anything awful."

"I- hm. I would say something to that," she disagreed with a laugh. "She just can be very smug, when she has or hasn't yet gotten what she wants. But, do you think it's horrid of me to wonder if he's really as bad as he is because of her?"

"But, if he's willing to give her the sort of affirmation that says she's doing something right, then it's sort of his fault?"

"Petunia was always like that." Her mind sifted through her memories of Petunia always laying the law, always trying to prohibit Lily from doing something daring, something out of the ordinary. "Wanting to stick to the 'right' choices... one time- I had suggested we have a race with the other kids who lived in our street. We would all sneak out and meet at midnight- run down the streets- can you imagine almost a dozen kids suddenly running down the street as fast as they can in the middle of the night?"

"Anarchy."

"But, in juvenile form," she reasoned to alleviate the word.

Remus laughed.

Lily's smile stayed as she played with the cuffs of her hoodie, her oversized sleeves completely covering her hands.

"I already know what you're going to say," Remus began. "But, you really don't need to stay here with me on a Friday night."

Lily blinked, pretending she didn't didn't hear him clearly. "Sorry, what? I need to stay with you here on this Friday night? Well, why do you suppose I'm here, Remus?" she said, smartly.

Remus rolled his eyes, but the small guilt that still often rose when he was confined here every month with his friends, smoothed over.

Though James had the misfortune of receiving a detention for tonight.

A detention Lily didn't completely believe was deserved honestly.

Lily began to smile to herself just thinking about him.

She lowers her head, her hands support her by cradling her face.

She needed to tell Remus something. But, she doesn't know if she should talk to James about it first, but she hadn't seen him all day, except for a brief smile shared in the halls, a rarity for them.

"Remus, I kissed James."

Confusion, incredulity, and wide eyes, had her break into a sudden, small laugh.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know why I nearly shouted that to you."

* * *

II.

It was blood-freezing cold, that's all James could think about as he pulled off his drenched quidditch uniform over his head after coming back from practice out in the rain.

He was the last one left inside the locker room. He told his team to leave for supper without him, though he's starting to regret staying here longer to jot a few reminders down for their next practice. He started to inspire himself to move quicker by picturing a steaming cup of pumpkin cider.

He changed back into his clothes, pulling down his jumper, and yanking up his trousers. He pushed up his glasses over his nose bridge, shut close his locker and left the room with a full two hours of practice accomplished. It was successful. But, he didn't feel satisfied.

His frustration was appeased for the moment, but Quidditch hadn't completely made him sane. No matter what he does, it's not going to fix his problem completely.

As far as the spring season goes, it's amazing how much it doesn't feel much like spring.

His mood lately hasn't been kind today. His frustration had been building up since the morning when he got into it with a typical Death Eater disciple. He was getting pretty damn frustrated at what he thought were punishments too lax for those demented zealots. James didn't quite give a bloody damn about their _juvenile_ ages- the minute those sick followers of his graduate, everyone knows what they'll be doing.

Brilliant, he's worked himself up again.

He jogged his way from the quidditch field towards the castle entrance in the grey, blue evening light, letting himself get rained on again and slowed down when he got to relish the warmth and shelter of the welcoming castle. He would have likened it to coming back home. But, it wasn't.

It was still too early for Remus and Sirius to be down. And, Lily didn't seem to have made it down yet either, he gathered from a quick sweep around the Great Hall. James slid into the seat left for him besides Charles Binks, their seeker, who was chatting with Alex Spinnet. James listened in to the loud opinions of his teammates, staying mostly quiet except for a few remarks here and there. But, it was clear to his teammates that he was in a brooding mood.

When Sirius came to sit around them, Lily was sitting close next to James, but they didn't speak as usual, lacking their norm- the easygoing nature between them. Sirius looked over at Remus, who was in midst of another conversation, but he noticed, took a glance at James and shrugged back at Sirius.

Lily was willing to let him be for a while longer. The two were walking back upstairs together, leaving supper earlier than the rest, when James was suddenly yanked away.

"_Sirius! What are you **doing**_?"

James was slammed against the stone wall. His head and back ached sharply.

"James!" Lily immediately went over to him. She wasn't sure where to touch, her hands fluttering to his arms, his shoulders, the side of his head.

"Have you gone mad?" she accused Sirius as James groaned. Her voice didn't know if it should be accusingly loud or harshly low as they were right by the music room where they can hear the orchestra group rehearsing.

James went with ferociously low. "You _moron_\- that bloody hurt! I'm going to-"

He tried to lunge at Sirius, but with Lily in the middle, blocking him from going after him, he found himself forced to stay where he was, not willing to get her anywhere injured.

"I'm glad you can still feel," Sirius stated, deadpanned, unthreatened at all by James' glare. "Stoicism can get really tiring you know."

"That doesn't mean you can just throw people against the wall- he could have gotten a head injury." Lily frowned at Sirius over her shoulder.

Sirius leaned to the side. "I can check to make sure."

"Nope, you-" She quickly sun around to confront Sirius, making sure her body was still right in front of James. "Upstairs please, I don't trust you at the moment. I'll fix- I can talk to him. Please... I'm _not_ going to beg." She narrowed her eyes at him, her stare meant to intimidate.

When Sirius decided to let her have her way, giving in from their silent staring match, and with a nod signifying his agreement, he went to the stairs.

Ironically, the music coming from the student orchestra quickened after he left to an enthusiastic, allegro piano movement.

She glanced up at James. She had thought earlier it was better for him to break out of his sulking on his own, but she supposed she should perhaps learn something from Sirius' more direct method.

"Do you think this one of those moods that usually goes away by tomorrow," her voice, patient and soft, but audible as she stepped closer so he can better hear her over the music. "Or, is this something that can't easily be overlooked?"

"Could this be about this morning?" Her countenance calm and focused while he contemplated, searching through his thoughts for what he thought he should tell her. "I heard that Slughorn had to break off a fight you were in today."

He was quiet for a couple more heartbeats. He dropped his head back against the chilled wall. "I'm not familiar with this, with thinking that I'm- that I can't do anything."

"That's not true at all," She let herself show a modest smile, just a slight curve at the corner of her lips. Her hand reached for his arm to comfort. "Why would you think you are..."

When he was quiet again, she prodded him gently, "Please tell me?"

"Lily, you don't understand." His eyes held hers steady yet, so very aware of how close she was to him. It was impossible not to notice how she was looking up at him, the warmth from her hands that that now circled loosely around his wrists on both his arms.

"Why not?"

"Lily, I'm certain I'm in love you."

James watched her as her mind unraveled his declaration. Her dark green eyes widened, gazing up at him, so purely focused on him.

Then, they were closed and he registered the soft pressure on his lips.

She was kissing him.

She didn't kiss him fiercely, no her reason didn't call for harshness. She kissed him shyly, instead. It was hopeful, that is what her kiss is supposed to represent. It was her way of relaying her equal happiness with him.

She felt herself smiling against his lips in relief when he started to kissed her back, pushing back gently to duly meet hers.

She moved her lips back to take a needed breath. "I'm- sorry, sorry," she let out an embarrassed laugh.

"No, don't be sorry. Merlin, don't say you're sorry."

Her eyes flickered up to him, holding his steady as they both sought each other's honesty, being laid out helplessly through their gazes.

"You don't mind that I-" she had begun to ask.

"How can I be?" he wondered, astoundedly. His hand reached up to her face, his thumb skimming the high points of her soft cheek for the first time.

"Were you upset because you love me..."

"No..." He lowered his head to rest his forehead on the top of her head.

"I can't stand having those miserable gits be around you," he finally voiced his upsetting concerns to her. His arguments in his mind being spoken aloud. "Points taken, detentions, and letters written home only do so much. I swear, if they try anything even near you-"

"_James_." Her hand traveled up his neck to rest at the slant of his jaw. She felt him lean into her palm.

"If you haven't noticed, we're almost completing our sixth year here. For six years, I found this castle to be my second home. Despite the ignorance, the fear, or the less-than-pleasant experiences I've had, I can still call this my home. Because, I'm not scared here. We're protected inside here. Have a little more faith in our Headmaster," she implored lightly, a small smile tilting her lips. "He is not so naive to not have the shared the same worries as you."

Her reassurance did manage to mitigate his worry, but he knows it won't temper it down completely.

"And- I think I might even love you, too," she said in an effort to humor him.

He knew those words would have the ability to completely distract him for a while. The rising elation in his heart rivaled and won priority against his fears inside him for the moment.

A smile of pure joy spread across his lips.

Nothing short of a miracle.

"If this is a bloody dream, I'm going to pitch myself into the Black Lake," he murmured against her hair after pulling her in, his arms wrapped around her shoulders.

* * *

III.

"_Ah fuck, my elbow_," Remus grimaced, grabbing onto his throbbing arm after banging it back against the edge of the bedside table.

Lily couldn't help but laugh at him rather unsympathetically.

"I can't believe it," he said, following back against the headboard for the bed, after listening to her retelling, her hands cradling her face as she waited anxiously for his reaction.

"What song was the orchestra playing?" he suddenly asked curiously.

"I'm not yet familiar with magical composers. But, I'd say it's more reminiscent of a sonata from Schubert. Grittily exciting."

"Schubert? Unfortunate of me for not being able to recall that name. Though my mum did play a lot of Franz Liszt when I was growing up."

"Did she?" She perked up in interest. "Do you think your mum would go to a concert with me one day? It would be so fun to go with her."

"She would," he answered confidently. "Though I'm sure she'd wonder why you asked her to go with, when her son would also have been happily interested in going."

"No thanks," she breezily dismissed his interest.

"Ha ha." Sarcasm rolled with his words before his features lightened to relay his happiness.

"I'm going to have to start getting used to this now." He wondered what James must have been feeling. He must be walking around in a dream-state. He's had feelings for Lily for so long and for her to return his feelings... Remus grinned. He couldn't help but congratulate him from afar.

He genuinely believes that James and Lily will work well together. They're certainly quite a pair.

Lily leaned back on her hands. "I haven't spoken to him once today. What if that's James' way of hinting that he wants us broken up already."

The most astounding "HA" burst in the air.

There was no other way he could have reacted. To even consider such a thing of James' possibly diminished feelings towards her. The only thing Remus was certain of about James is that he was utterly taken by Lily.

After leaving Remus to rest, Lily headed back upstairs.

She thought she caught sight of Alice and Frank in the crowded Common Room, and made her way over to them.

She caught sight of her wonderful pupil, Alex, on her way. He seemed to be in the midst of telling some grand story, so she just cheerily tossed his hood over his head as she passed by him.

She was right, it was Alice and Frank sitting by the chess table, but then she noticed James standing over Frank's chair, leaning forward, his eyes concentrated on the board.

She was overly aware of her heart at the lovely shock of the sight of him. "What are you doing here?"

James' head shot up as soon as he heard her distinct voice.

His signature grin grew as he took in the sight of her, both of them eccentrically grinning at each other as they stood in place.

He took a last drag from the cigarette he had been holding that she just noticed, before pressing it down in the- gold-trimmed, china saucer that held a teacup...

She didn't know what to say to that, though she felt she should.

She's also rarely ever seen him smoke.

Frank's got an affinity for it though, she remembered as she rapidly worked to reason it all in her head. It must have been his. With her mind so focused on him walking towards her and her thoughts, she completely missed Alice calling her name.

His fingers were shuffling his hair all about.

"Hi."

"Hello." She smiled demurely, her eyes gleaming up at his handsome features.

"How's Remus?" James asked. He reached for her, taking her hand within his, and he brought her even closer to him, making her tilt her head further back to speak to him.

"How did you know where I was?" she asked, her voice bright and curious. She never told him where she was going to be tonight.

She also seems to have briefly forgotten that he was supposed to be in detention.

"Of course it's where you've been. You're you."

"Which makes you predictable," Frank enlightened to her, his voice suddenly coming from behind James.

"Yes, thank you, Frank..." Sarcasm made its subtle appearance out of James.

Lily grinned over at Alice and Frank before looking back at James.

"If you can just speak a little louder, then Alice and I could hear better," they heard Frank add.

She chuckled, her teeth biting into her bottom lip. Then, she remembered. "Hold on." She leaned back as she examined him. "You're not supposed to be here right now."

"Of course I am."

"James, what if you get caught?" Her voice lowered to a whisper, glancing around as if someone would hear her and effectively take him away.

"Don't worry about that. McGonagall's the reason I got out early. She called me over before I went in and told me she was cutting it short."

"Really?_ But, why_? Oh, that's so nice of her." He trailed his finger behind her ear to push a strand of her long, distinguishable, hair back.

She didn't manage bother with another word when he pressed his lips against hers.


	6. Chapter 6

I.

Lily and James had agreed that they would prefer it if their relationship didn't become common knowledge as of now. They didn't hide their affection, but they weren't overly demonstrative either. They preferred to simply enjoy what they have, at least in the beginning. Their new graduated relationship was kept as a house held secret, thankfully respected by their housemates.

And, seeing as their semester was already close to the end, the rest of the student body was simply too hounded by final exams to really notice or care on anything but their studies.

"I might actually consider a life in academia," Lily mentioned to James one afternoon as they leaned out in the grassy courtyard over the aged stone walls of the cloister. Only a few students passed by during this time. The library was filled with students when the sun remained out, only starting to fluctuate in numbers when the sky got darker and food became a welcome distraction.

"It's actually quite good fun when one's concern is in material he or she is genuinely interested in."

"I can see why a scholar's life would interest you," James regarded her with a proud, supportive smile. His arms crossed one another over the top of the stone barrier. "Your learning would never cease, and new and more modern approaches will always come up to keep things exciting. Hopefully, even causing a little controversy."

"Do you think I'd have the tolerance for it, though?" Her gaze unfocused as she mentally examined herself. "I don't think I'd be prepared to conduct research and compile a 100 page paper, even on a topic I felt passionate about. I always struggle with line quotas."

"For which subject, Potions or History?"

"History. I love history."

"Of course. I'll write one with you," he proposed. "Surely, our competitive natures wouldn't allow you to falter when I'm striving against you, well-intentioned or not."

She pursed her lips into a smile, angled slightly. "I guess it's settled then. I have nothing to fear as long as you're with me as either a supporter or competitor."

He dropped a soft kiss on top of her head, his way of saying that he agreed completely with her statement, while her body vibrated from her subtle laughs.

"I've spoken with Professor Cuprum about how he liked being a professor and how he started, and he said after he graduated, he planned on just entering into Ministry office job, just like the rest of his family. I've forgotten what Department, or maybe he failed to bring it up, but nevertheless, he said he had never pictured himself standing in front of a room of students everyday with his lectures until someone he knew in the administration floated the idea to him."

"If it wasn't for the war going on," he went on, his gaze insightful. "I might have looked much strongly into my dad's company. But, I've more recently considered politics, making a few inquiries on how I should get my foot in the door."

"Politics is a secret fascination of mine," she divulged, looping her arm around his.

"A secret? Why a secret?" he asked, entertained.

"It just is," she simply said, leaning her head on to his shoulder, content, like a well situated cat.

"Mhmm. Do you have other secrets you're willing to share with me now?"

"Most likely. But, I can't seem to summon one to my mind at the moment."

"What if I guessed one?"

She laughed. "Go ahead, then."

"Well, I already know that you're in love with me," he said, declaring it more than guessing.

"That's not really a secret."

"Thank God. I'd be wallowing in sorrow right now if you kept it from me."

She playfully rolled her eyes before closing them as she relaxed against him.

"You're a hedonist," he brazenly guessed, his head angled towards hers as his lips spoke near her ear. She pushed down the instinct to fidget from his low words, suddenly so close.

"Yes. You got it. First try. Amazing," she sarcastically indulged him with a grin.

Oddly enough- well, she supposed it wasn't odd actually, considering she can recall something of hers regarding him near her bed. Something she hasn't told a soul about.

"You're blushing," he observed, shamelessly enjoying the sight of her face reddening even more. He lifted his finger to feel the warmth of her cheek. "Tell me why," he insisted.

"I- may have a picture of you on my bed stand... it's from the beginning of the year, taken for the front page of the school paper when you were once again crowned a Quidditch hero. The paper's been sitting there all year. I don't know," she looked down as she began to fidget with her hands. "I supposed I thought they captured you really well in the photo and- you're just beaming so happily and everyone in the stands was too."

The unexpected revelation immobilized him until he was suddenly swept up in astonished rapture and satisfaction. Amazingly and unknowingly, he had been with her for months. Just an arms length away, she had kept him.

"It's such a happy moment captured of our school," she was explaining.

"You're spectacular."

* * *

II.

A searing whistle pierced through the commotion at Kings Cross. Smoke wafted up from beneath the wheels of the locomotive as a sign that the train was preparing to depart soon.

Students and parents rushed and stood around, waiting to be reunited with their families. Excited greetings and fast questions surrounded Lily and James as they waded their way through the crowd, eventually reaching a spot to wait at.

Lily balanced herself up and down on her tip-toes.

"I'm nervous."

"Yeah? How can I help?" he asked, shamelessly grinning down at her.

"Break it off with me. I vow to not make a scene. Then, you won't have to introduce me to your mum and dad."

Something in his peripheral caught his gaze but his gleaming eyes centered back on her. "We can't do that now, it would be too perfectly timed. They would only believe that if it was a day's notice at least." He brought her hand already held in his up to his lips for a kiss. "Amateur."

The sudden sound of trunks collapsing onto the floor had her looking over her shoulder.

Sirius was leaning over the cart he had pushed over to them. "Prongs, yours is the one by her feet."

James had already bent down to pick it up. "Thanks, mate." He aimed and threw it back on top of the cart, narrowly missing Sirius' face, all thanks to Sirius' quick reflexes.

Remus had already gone off with his parents. He found them pretty quickly, so they had a hasty goodbye, promising to see each other within the month. Lily stayed by James and Sirius. She was meeting with James' parents for the first time today. She was a little anxious, despite James' and Sirius' assurances, to spend the afternoon with them before she floo'ed to her parent's house.

James comes from an old and affluent, wizarding family, and she's known this for a few years. Her mind recalled Severus' distasteful descriptions of the family he had made in the past. Most of the finer details were true. What was already a comfortable fortune for the family quadrupled thanks to James' father. And, the family was one of the oldest, if not _the_ oldest, Sirius mentioned when he was comparing the Potters to his own family.

Lily's parents are gratefully well-to-do, but her ancestors aren't descendants of the first wizards in history.

But, what she suspected was a major cause for her trepidation is the simple existence of the prejudice set against her. Prejudice is a terrible thing. The actuality of it, the potential, and the fear of it. She had recently let the fear go unleashed and affect her when she knows she shouldn't. She failed to mention this to James, due to her own unfortunate insecurities and self-conflict.

_"There's a reason why other families like mine don't like the Potters."_ For comfort, Lily would frequently reference to what Sirius had also said. _"They're the most decent."_

"Ready to take on the world again?" Sirius asked to no one specifically. "Lily, since I expect we'll be seeing more of you, now's the time we should take advantage and form a deeper bond, don't you think?"

"A deeper bond with you?" James asked, responding with both incredulity and suspicion.

"I wouldn't mind at all," Lily answered. "Sirius can finally take me to go see a Wimbourne Wasps match." Her expression held a pretense of innocent excitement.

James chuckled, gazing at her with clear affection.

Sirius absolutely abhorred that team, declaring them all dead to him after he lost twenty galleons to James during a sporting bet because of his mistakenly placed trust in them.

"I'd sooner start a massive bee colony," Sirius immediately shot back.

"Absolutely out of the question," James rejected the mere thought.

"You're allergic to bees," Lily kindly reminded Sirius.

James would soon find his parents in the crowd. Greetings were made with delighted faces and Lily was the first to find herself in a kind embrace by Mrs. Potter, the older matriarch who wore beautiful signs of aging that spoke of a lifetime of many smiles. Lily felt her fears that she had been harboring for this moment evaporate as she found herself surrounded by genuine smiles.

They arrived to his family home first to leave their luggage before going to a favored establishment of theirs.

James had told his father of Lily's natural gift in Potions, a topic in which the older gentleman enthusiastically swept her in conversation given his successful career as a potion-brewer. His smile was so charming she couldn't help but smile back when ever he did.

Not once did Lily feel scrutinized or less than. They enjoyed their meal at the well-rated restaurant, and towards the end, Lily leaned content and relaxed against James' arm he had rested over her seat as she listened to him talk with his parents about their final year.

He speculated if Defense Against the Dark Arts was going to become more advanced than usual for their year so as to prepare them in joining the fight against Death Eaters after graduation.

Lily's fingers froze in the midst of playing with the soft fabric of her dress.

James felt her tense and glanced down. Perhaps he shouldn't have mentioned death eaters during their nice lunch.

When Sirius spoke, James focused on her, quietly asking if she was all right. She nodded, half-heartedly smiling as she assured him that she was.

But, he knew she remained distracted. She was still and quiet towards the end.

* * *

III.

Green fire once more erupted in the wide fireplace in the house of James' parents.

Lily was silent as she walked in before James into the Potter's living room. His parents had considerately left the younger ones alone to relax in each other's company after the meal they shared.

"James." She turned around to face him as he stood behind her, adjusting his collar under his dark, cotton jumper. She appeared unsettled. "What did you mean earlier- at the restaurant- when you said you were going to join the fight after graduation?"

He placed his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "More or less what you've just said. I've decided to fight for a couple of months now." His warm eyes behind his glasses stayed steady on hers.

Sirius then made his appearance behind James, the last green flames he left behind immediately burning out.

Her brows narrowed, his answer disconcerting her. "But, how?"

"How what?" Sirius asked, carelessly, sitting back in one of the antique chaises. When he glanced at their faces, he realized he had walked into a tension-growing atmosphere.

"How is he going to fight Death Eaters? By following them down streets and neighborhoods, morning and night- will that be your occupation? Fighting them all on your own as a vigilante? Are you going to kill them?" Lily asked, feeling her anger rising.

James frowned, not expecting her sudden criticisms.

"I seriously doubt I'll be on my own, there are others who want to fight. I can't go to work in the morning, hope that this is all going to stop soon, and spend my hours worrying without actually taking action."

"So I'm right, that's exactly what you're planning to do... **_are_** _you going to kill them_?" she demanded he answer.

Sirius stared patiently at James.

"How can you even try to protect them right now?" James' own temper snapped as he stared into her fiercely lit, green eyes.

"I'm not! I'm trying to protect you. James, you can't be so arrogant to believe that you would find success behind all of this. You have to see that this will only lead you to recklessly risking your life without any clear direction- or worse, you'll destroy yourself by falling into a constant state of hate you would create for yourself. It would corrupt you-"

"I'm not the one whose morality should be on trial by you." He stepped towards her. "Stopping them is all that matters right now in this country. What would you rather me do? Stay at home? Hide inside the walls on some floor in the ministry while another one of us goes missing every single day?"

"_No_" her syllable a plead. "You wouldn't be hiding. You could be actively, _effectively_, working in the Minister's department, where you could be supplied with resources that you wouldn't have on your own an-"

"If they're so capable, then why is the missing persons list growing longer every night? Tell me what the Ministry has effectively done during this?" he challenged her, indignantly. "Working for the Ministry can't possibly be my priority now."

"James, you can help them. You can work in politics and come up with ways that would better aid the ministry. But- don't sit on animosity until graduation, and plan to release it all after."

"They deserve my animosity!" he bellowed. "They're going to try to take you away from me!"

Her own voice quieted. "... And, you're being selfish if you plan on being cavalier with your life..."

Lily took a breath, imperfect and ragged. She looked to her side where Sirius sat, looking to be deep in his own thoughts as he stared ahead.

"Sirius, you talk to him..."

But, Sirius stayed quiet, eventually only able to give a silent, heavy shrug.

They watched her begin to storm away.

"Lily..." James resignedly called after her.

"Don't. I need to be by myself right now."

She disappeared past the doorway.

James didn't go after her.

Silence dominated the room for a brief moment. James looked down and caught sight of his wrist. Ready to take it off for the day, he tried to undo the rich brown, leather band of his watch, his fingers fumbling with the clasp impatiently, before he finally aggressively ripped it off his wrist and flung it on the ground, hitting the tiled floor beneath him. They listened to the glass face of the watch, cased in gold, fracture upon impact.

"Tsk tsk," Sirius murmured, unfazed. He leaned back, bringing his feet up to lie on the couch. "It's a shame that you're both right."


	7. Chapter 7

I.

James eventually stepped out of the living room, intending to go find her. He needn't look far, for there she was, down, at the end of one of the halls.

Her body supported by the dark wall as she leaned her shoulders against it. Her eyes were closed, isolating herself to her own thoughts, her head tilted heavenward.

"Lily." He found himself walking down to her, passing the hung heirloom oil paintings that modernized as he got nearer to her, into moving photographs of his family.

Lily's eyes blinked, her body's way of summoning her back to the present they shared.

He stopped just a few footsteps away, realizing he shouldn't move further if his presence would strain her.

There was no greater, desperate relief he felt when she balanced herself off the wall and in the next second, hugged him tightly to her body.

He held on to her desperately, thankfully, his hand gripping her soft, deep red hair.

"Lily, I have to apologize."

"No, I'm sorry.." She hasn't spilled any tears yet, but her eyes were glistening from her sadness.

She leaned back to face him, and he saw the tangible of her miserableness, distressing him to feel as if he was the worst, disgraceful villain.

"Please don't apologize," James said. "You're right. I've thought about what you said, and viewed my plans through your point of view, and you're right- I was arrogant. I was arrogant to think that it would all work out the way I had, _impulsively_, imagined it in my head- and without any real experience."

"James, I admit I'm inclined to being naive if I'm placing my full trust in the Ministry. I'm sensible enough to remind myself that government establishments are the antithesis of honesty. But, I can't believe that behind their condemnations, they're being negligent in this great matter..."

She quickly went on to finish her piece before he can interrupt her. Her fingertips strengthened their hold on his arms.

"Every word that came out from me earlier came from a fear that's been brought up in front of me so quickly. I don't want you hurt. I don't want you taken away from me either," she said, recalling his words from before.

"It's a heedless plan of mine that should have been corrected sooner- I was desperate and angry. Neither form a well mindset.

"I'm going to rethink the matter. All of it. From a tempered mind," he said.

"I'm sorry..." She had been rather accusatory earlier.

"Why are you apologizing?" He tried to erase the shadow of guilt on her face with a soft chuckle, closing his arms around her to hold her against him. Her chin rested on his shoulder, his head atop of hers.

"I feel the need to," she answered, her words slightly mumbled over the fabric of his jumper.

"What about Sirius?" she found herself asking after him.

James grinned and replied, "He went back to his house. We frightened him off."

She bit her lower lip as her smile spread across her lips, her mind suddenly recalling a moment that happened earlier in the day.

"Your mum... when she noticed Sirius' hand..."

Earlier in the restaurant, when they were waiting for their meal Mrs. Potter noticed and asked about a peculiar scratch on Sirius' hand.

_"Sirius, is that-" She had leaned in closer to better examine his lower palm. "Are those bite marks you have there?"_

_"Yes... I tried to stifle a howler, but the blasted thing-"_

_Lily began to cough as discreetly as she can, unable to make any eye contact with him. That didn't stop her from feeling his gaze turn and stay on her._

_"-masticated my hand..."_

Lily felt James' body shake from laughing as he remembered too.

Sirius, for his part, didn't find Howlers to be amusing at all anymore and, still so far, hasn't been able to find anyone to bribe to open them for him. Just four have been sent to him, but it was three too many for him.

"Come on." James released her and nodded his head to the side, locks of his dark hair falling over his forehead. "We shouldn't stand here all day."

"I have to go soon..." she softly reminded him.

_Don't leave yet,_ he wished to tell her. But, he knew her parents must be eagerly awaiting for her. So he brought helped her bring her luggage down and watched as she warmly made her goodbye's to his parents.

"Something came to mind." He pushed his glasses up to sit atop his head to pinch the top of his nose bridge.

"Oh?" Lily looked up at him with an awaiting smile as they stood by the fireplace. Her eyes traced the areas of his face where his glasses would usually, but were now uncovered.

"'_Men should either be treated generously or destroyed,'" _he recited from memory.

"Are you- quoting a Renaissance philosopher?"

She remembered back to when she and James were briefly researching the period, when they were still searching for topics for their last art paper.

"You have to admit it's quite an extraordinary thing to say." He had reached for the box of floo powder and rolled the grains of the glittering green floo powder he held in his fist. "Bloody hell, I'm rather good with names, but even I'm impressed that I can quote Machiavelli... but, I'm going to have a further examine into his words. His writing on revenge is- perceptive."

"Study on, Potter, study on," she cheerfully encouraged.

James scoffed, bringing his glasses back to their proper place.

She brought his face down to kiss him wonderfully before she released him.

"You can't forget to write," she said, stepping into the fireplace.

_Not bloody likely. _He grinned boldly. "I can't just apparate in to your room then?"

She just held out her elegant fingers for the floo powder. "Try it. We'll see what happens."

* * *

II.

James' schedule hadn't become as lax as he had initially planned when he returned home for the summer.

The only shame of this was that he has to bear the brunt of his work without Lily's frequent presence.

He always awaited for Thursday each week, when he and she would spend the day together in town, just the two of them.

The rest of the week he had unanticipatedly become engulfed with books. A precarious tower of books he pulled from the shelves of his parents' library sat atop the desk in the room which he had taken over for the time being. The base of his tower included an autobiography by Ulick Gamp, who created the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, ascending up to a biography of Artemisia Lufkin, the first female Minister of Magic, and a few titles above, a smaller book with a thin spine that included the name, _Grindelwald_, sat almost squished between the other bulbous books.

Thoroughly learning the workings of the government was what James hoped to do over this summer.

Lily had accurately and sensibly pointed out the flaws of his former plan. Who was he to become a lone, mediocre vigilante? His main accomplishments at school were Quidditch and miraculously getting Lily to go out with him. His skills weren't subpar, but they wouldn't best ten death eaters at once. He would get himself killed and would have risked his Sirius' or Remus' lives if they had joined him to protect him.

James' parents were nothing short of supportive of his plan to decidedly go into the Ministry. Something he had realized recently he was quick to take for granted.

Earlier in the month, his father had connected him to an old friend of the family who works in the support staff for the Minister of Magic. The friend was generous enough to offer James any advice so should he wish it and a tour when ever James was willing.

James had immediately written a letter after this response, of course. To Lily.

Receiving from and writing letters to her were almost daily opportunities for him to uninhibitedly smile and lighten the brevity of the future in his mind.

She was his future. And, he was going to secure it indefinitely.

* * *

III.

"Do you know," Lily began to ponder aloud to Marlene, as she watched the commotion from where they stood just outside the store front window. "I never really understood the chaos- I mean passion, behind Quidditch brooms..." She sipped her traveling cup of lemonade as she observed the undying antics happening inside. "I supposed it's like getting the fastest car once it's released, but I don't think they'd climb over each other to reach a car, do they?"

Marlene watched, unimpressed, at what was going on inside the store. "Hm. Ordinarily I'd be sympathetic for those getting trampled about, but look he just tackled- _oof_," she and Lily both winced as they watched the aforementioned sir and his competition fall into a bookshelf.

"Look he's laughing!" Marlene exclaimed excitedly as she pointed to them.

"Dead funny," Lily tried to hide her laugh behind her hand.

Pulling themselves away from the excitement, the two walked away from the crowd of overzealous broom fans and their determination to obtain to the newest, limited edition racing boom, the Silver Arrow.

Marlene interlocked her arm with Lily's. Marlene's features were complimented by her jewel-toned clothes, her blue blouse paired with a dark purple skirt that floated above her knees. Her hair had been cut over the summer to sit around her shoulders.

"So, how's the family?" Marlene asked.

"Wonderfully normal. My parents are doing well and Petunia's wedding planning-"

Marlene released a noise that was part scoff, part snort, if that was even possible. "No, we're not going to talk about wedding planning... unless its your _own_..." She raised her eyebrows with a grin Lily didn't trust at all.

"I can see you practically scheming inside your mind, Marlene, I'm absolutely putting a stop to it now," she grinned exasperatedly.

"So, did your father approve? Did he give James the go ahead? Oh my God, the proposal, how is he going to do it, I wonder?"

"Four months. I've only been seeing him for four months," Lily loudly sighed, glancing down at her ivory, sleeveless jumpsuit. Classic and timelessly elegant. Her striking hair was gently pulled back in a braid that cascaded down one shoulder.

"_Well_, I hope you're not putting the blame for that on me. How many times have I given you my full support, if you had ever decided to snog the bloody life out of James in all those study dates you had with him after class."

Lily sputtered. "The professor, Marlene! We can't just snog each other to death in front of a third party."

"Are you shy?"

"Almost _unbelievably_ so. Can you believe it?" Her sarcasm was softened by her good humor.

"So, it went well, then?" Marlene asked, going back to her original question.

"I think mum and dad might adore him actually." Lily took another sip. "He even bought my dad an eagle owl. He's absolutely stunning, but I didn't know how to react at first because it was just so- thoughtful and, honestly, excessive. James bought it for my dad for his second visit to our house, because I had simply mentioned that dad admires _Agilitas_ each time he visits to drop off one of James' letters."

"Does your dad have any wizard friends he can send post to?"

"No, but James didn't find anything wrong with that, he argued that he can become penpals with my dad himself."

After a few more laughs, and a quick look at telescopes for sale, they talked about how Marlene's family was doing.

"Sane as could be."

Marlene also mentions that Dumbledore was at their house the other day. She caught him when he was leaving and apparently it was just a quick pop in to say hello to her parents.

"Have you seen him in _your_ neighborhood?"

"Not yet. I'm going to hope though."

Marlene grinned appreciatively, but then glanced back at her through the side of her eyes, her smile lowering. "What about _him_?"

"Him, oh. No. No. Thankfully not."

"Good," Marlene declared, her head held high. "Slimy git."

"Merlin, you sound just like Sirius," Lily said, without any trace of annoyance.

"Does James know he lives in your neighborhood?"

"He does. He's not pleased about it. He told me to not go near his place alone, to which I replied, 'That's the most ridiculous thing you've said all year.' It'd terribly awkward to say the least, to go alone to the home of my former childhood friend that's turned into a death eater."

"Mhmm," Marlene nodded in agreement. "Truly. James never liked him." Marlene shrugged. "Then again, I thought he didn't like anyone except for himself for _quite_ a while.

"Anyway..." She tapped her cup against Lily's. "To friends that aren't death eaters. Cheers."

Lily nodded her head in agreement. "_Santé._"

* * *

IV.

Lily wore a perpetual frown as she read through each page of _Harrowing Miracles, The Wizard's Crime._

James was sat next to her on the floor, his arm resting on the couch in her parents' living room as he watched her reactions play out to the story. His fingers idly twirled in her hair.

With her parents were at work for the day, and Petunia fortressing herself upstairs after hearing James' arrival, they were contentedly comfortable.

Lily glanced up at him more than once as she read through his recommended reading.

When she was done with the third brief chapter, she closed the book.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't puzzled over the critical praise for this. I don't see it," Lily expressed.

"You're not a fan?"

"It's-..." she gave that question a deep thought. "No," she decided. "I didn't like it. I mean, I get it, why some find it the funny, with the satire and all of that, but I just don't like it. It's not my kind of reading. It's rather- sad. So many tragedies mixed up with irony... I think I'm too much of a romantic to enjoy this."

She placed the book on top his lap.

"I very much enjoy the fact that you are one." James grinned as she pretended to roll her eyes and moved closer to him, her body turning to angle towards him.

"I probably found it a tinge more humorous than you, but you're right in my opinion." He picked up the hardcover novel, an image of the skeletal remains of a burned witch gleaming on the cover. "Its morbid qualities completely outweigh the absurdity of her words. Fiction or not, it would have made a more lasting mark on me if it was lauded as a gothic novel. Sirius' great relative wrote this."

Lily stiffened. "I'm sorry, _what_?"

"_Hesper Gamp_, the author's name as you see there, married Sirius Black II, and effectively became the sweet grandmother to our own Sirius' father. Sirius' mum couldn't stand her apparently."

He watched her, apparently both amused and endeared, as she adorably took a moment to process this new information.

"I lied. This was actually pretty well written," she determined, unashamedly biased.

James snickered and dropped his head towards her, and let his lips smile at her neck.

"Thank you for bringing the book over though."

"It's yours."

She repressed the urge to fidget from feeling ticklish.

Oh. "But..." She didn't particularly _want_ it... "Okay..."

"Your dad might enjoy the book."

"Please stop trying to become my dad's new best mate." She couldn't hold in her laugh when she suddenly felt his hand reaching her waist, his unexpected touch overloading her already, delicate senses.

"I already have a best mate," he gently corrected her.

"You're right, your _own_ dad."

James rolled them to the ground, knocking the book to the side. He made them land on their sides, facing each other, with his arm cushioning her head and disappearing under a red, silken, cloud.

"Don't make me kiss you," he mockingly scowled.

She made a faint noise of protest and turned her head away. "It's too hot," she complained.

James burst out laughing, his head falling back on the carpet. Lily turned back, her lips smiling widely.

She loved seeing him so happy and being the one who makes him laugh so freely. She still sometimes couldn't believe that he was with her, that he was even in love with her. He's too intelligent, too gifted in Quidditch, and much too handsome for her.

She moved in to kiss his cheek, effectively softening his outburst.

"I love you."

James let her words take over him. He leaned over and pressed his lips against hers, more fervent than gentle, angling his head to kiss her deeper, her lips parting with his.

Her only thoughts were of him and his hands gliding behind her back, moving forward to encompass her waist, gradually roaming higher to brush against her breasts.

Her own hands traveled up his chest to his neck, her gentle hands and soft lips quietly encouraging him.

When James broke apart first, taking in deep breaths and studying her flushed face and bright eyes, he kissed her once more on her lips and murmured, "I love you, Lily." He let his hazel eyes show his vulnerability inside, letting her glimpse into his small, but undiminishing, fear of him ever losing her.

But there was more love than fear that passed through his eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

I.

Lily was drifting in and out of a sleepy daze as she laid her head on its side, an open book serving as her pillow.

She's been unusually tired for the last few days, but she figured it must be some hormonal shift or a mild consequence of the shifting seasons. She was really trying hard not to fall asleep though, she has to go down and study soon... but, she supposed a rejuvenating nap could only aid her now that she thinks about it.

_Knock, knock._

Her eyelids fluttered, lazy and heavy while her body simply acknowledged the knocks on her door.

_Knock, knock._

They came a little louder this time.

She allowed herself a moment to console herself over the lost opportunity before dragging herself up. Her long hair draped down her back as she stretched her neck and fixed her skirt she still had on from this morning.

Her fingers drifted along her nightstand, impulsively taking a small box of sweets to awaken her which laid beside the new frame she obtained over the summer. It displayed James' beaming smile at the passersby through the black and white news picture.

Lily swung her door open and blinked up at her visitor. _Oh-_

"Did you just knock on my door?" she asked, her smile growing at the peculiarity of his action.

She can't remember the last time James knocked on a door, nevertheless hers. He was one who liked to make his announcements first when he stepped into a room, her room not an exception.

His presence upstairs didn't startle her. He had known about the way around the enchantment that prohibits boys from entering the girls dormitories for a few months. He discovered that the trick was to first realize that the enchantment is only temporary. It's all dependent on the portrait of a Pope that hung three pictures away, by the fireplace.

Marlene was down there right this moment, distracting Pope Clement XI with conversation, who was visible from his midriff-up, as he sat in his masterful portrait with marble pillars in his background. The patron to science and art, and the first Pope to be a friend to wizardkind, was metaphorically "Death," who James repeatedly cheated as he crossed Death's bridge- here, the bridge being stairs.

"Why? Is there someone else standing in front of your door?" James teased, his demeanor a contrast to hers, his refreshed from Quidditch practice.

He recognized the signs of sleep that haven't fully departed from her features and bent down to kiss her softly. His skin was cool, a reminder that he had just come from outside from the Quidditch field.

He also recognized a citrus taste from her lips.

"Is that-?" His chin tilted towards her left hand.

She picked through the bright box, found a small, delectably green, jelly, and popped it in to her mouth.

"Mmm. Lime beans," her smile lazy.

He leaned in, his hand fitting perfectly to the curve of her body. His recently tattooed words in their humble size on the back of his lower hand came to more prominent view.

"Would you mind sharing a few?"

"Once you tell me why you've knocked."

"I wanted to try a novel experience."

"What an answer," she smirked.

James awaitingly opened his mouth when she fed him the candy.

"Did I wake you?"

"No, you came a bit early," she yawned, oddly feeling more awake after. "How was practice? I've noticed it's getting really dark quickly again."

"It was bloody windy as hell, too."

Laughter slipped out of her lips. Letting herself just stare up at him, she reached up on her toes to kiss him again, her arms wrapped around his neck, letting herself warm him up a bit more.

Lily couldn't adore cold weather anymore than she already did, and she relished in his cool air.

"Darker skies help with training," James said against her lips. "It adds a challenge. _But_, what I'm here for, is to tell you that we're all set to head down to study. Marlene and the lads are already downstairs, I just needed to grab you. _Happily_. But, we can blow them off and sleep in instead. Complete lack of regret."

"'_Happily_,'" she lightly repeated. "No, I'm all right. I can't blow off Remus, we have so much to do."

She offered him the bag of candy and went back over to her bed to get her books and his. He pocketed her treats and she made sure not to leave her robe behind either, planning to use it as a comforting blanket later on.

They rejoined the others downstairs and the consensus was to find an empty classroom in place of heading to the library and risking getting crucified from Madame Pince. Lily absolutely admired her.

Like many, when a large group of friends go on a walk, they tend to pair off. James walked in the center, just a step ahead of Lily and Remus, as he listened to them discuss serious matters derived from the latest troubling headlines in the Daily Prophet.

Sirius and Marlene walked in front of James, trading funding advice for each their own fortunes.

James stopped in his steps for a brief moment, when he heard a younger student shyly approach Lily for directions.

Lily's natural benevolence shined in all her interactions with students who came up to her with questions and requests.

He found himself smiling as soon as she did.

He thought back to Lily's reaction when he showed her his letter. She was positively rapturous and overly pleased, more than she should have been, in his opinion. She even went as far as saying that he deserved it for reasons listed about his personal philosophy, his successes in academia and sport, and... James shook his head, grinning to himself as he thought about it again.

The only matter she was concerned with, was if they should have formally disclosed their relationship to their headmaster, in case it would have affected his decision in having a couple be the Heads of the school.

Professor Dumbledore would considerately reply back a week later, assuring Lily it wouldn't have, and added his thanks and compliments for her pursuit in honesty, and congratulated them for both their positions and their relationship.

Lily glanced up at James once the student left. She caught his smile, his body angled back towards hers, and her lips curved in return before she turned back to speak with Remus.

But, while most students shared polite greetings with her in the halls, James never failed to notice the ones who didn't. Those who didn't hold back their sneers towards her or him, especially in the first week back when they all recognized the Head badges on their robes.

He wanted to make them all get on their knees and beg for forgiveness to her each time. Unfortunately that just wasn't a choice.

Two years ago or even a year ago, James wouldn't have hesitated to curse them, to challenge them, subtly torment them.

But, doing so out open isn't a choice for him anymore. And, there's something else that holds him back from initiating now. Perhaps it's maturity, or Lily, his friends, life, or all of them combined. But, his impulsiveness in his actions has subsided. For now, at least.

Lily planned to study tonight with Remus for Advanced Arithmancy Studies. For seventh years, the course was fairly simple. For the whole year, they only had to collaborate with their partner to present a final project at the end to impress their professor.

They were abstractly thinking about the role of science and medicine, how magic plays in with magical scientific studies, notably not muggle ones.

And, once arriving to their classroom, they focused tirelessly on their proposal.

It was well in to the night when their conclusion was upon them and like the fourth movement of an Opus, the invigorated sound of debate amplified throughout the room.

The words and numbers in white chalk spreading across the black board was being composed by Lily, with Remus conducting verbally.

Sirius stared impassively at the board as he read through their work. He had been determined to raise difficult questions and find holes to kindly make their lives easier as they stressed over the initial logistics and finding dependable data to support their thesis. Sirius was based the past summer at his house his uncle left him in his will, but he made sure not to give his mates the opportunity to miss his challenging and dauntless behavior, spending plenty of the summer with them exploring amongst the daily lives of muggles in Britain.

James stood behind Lily and leaned back on a desk, his eyes behind his glasses mostly focused on the writer's brilliantly concentrated face, than what was going around them.

Sirius _patiently_ raised another blunt question before she had even been able to finish writing her latest sentence. Marlene was truly thoughtful to verbally threaten him for another one of his outbursts while she was trying to finish her own writing in her notebook, leaving Lily a few more seconds to finish her thought before addressing him again.

"I think it makes a point on its own, Sirius. I see it as a chain. Numerics are behind magic, and magic is a component of magical cures."

"Sneaky bastards," Marlene murmured from her seat. Her light hair escaping from the hair ribbon she had used hours before to harshly secure it up. Her skin was still richly colored from her recent family trip to the Eastern continent.

"You make yourself open to basic arguments," Sirius countered. "I can argue over what came first, magic or arithmacy. Are numbers the byproduct of a want of explanation, a rationalization of phenomenon?"

"And, you're treading on the most basic of grounds that deniers always stand on," she grinned. "_What came first_," she lightly mocked. "Can't you do better?"

"Come on, the board, Sirius, support our board," Remus entreated lazily, copying notes down from said board.

"Let's just- debate the architecture of numerics then for a moment-" Sirius began.

Lily and Remus both ignored him while James snickered. James wrapped his arm around Lily's waist when she walked back to his side to fully examine all what that had been written on the board.

She let out a quiet breath as she leaned in his side, now being reacquainted with her earlier tiredness.

"Remus, do you think we've gotten what we needed today?" she asked.

Remus hummed his support.

Lily was looking down at James hand she held between her fingers as they made their way back to the Common Room alone in the sleeping halls.

Benedictio Dei. She wasn't with him when he had gotten his tattoo, but she helped him decide on the placement. The small, black capital letters were simple, sophisticated- the unadorned words formidable.

"Do you know, I read about the most interesting antidote for poison in our new potions book," Lily mused. "It's called Aconite. It's a pretty flower, and amusing enough, its leaves are most likely more toxic than the poison the plant is supposed to treat. But, there are people who are wondering what other uses this can be used for... even lycanthropy."

_Remus_.

"Do you believe they'll find something?"

"I like to hope," she replied.

James smirked. "I'll dare to be the skeptic then. We already have our solution anyway."

"Being an animagus is hardly the cure your friend needs."

"_We_ didn't need to worry about accidental brushings with deadly leaves."

"Of course, you'd be so modest on the risk of bloody killing yourself. But, I love listening to you being wrong."

"My pride says otherwise..."

He listened to his favorite laugh that emerged from her.

They stood by the girls staircase. The room had darkened and a split of wood burning orange flames in the fireplace snapped in the air.

"Oh how interesting that you're thinking about your pride."

"Oh ha." His lips broke into a grin, knowing she was teasing him. "Damned Spinnet can't keep his mouth shut."

"But, he's not wrong. He tells me everything that goes on during practice. It's the best part of my day. And, don't damn him, Alex is a treasure."

"Oh is he? Bloody shame I'll have to toss him off the team."

She couldn't help her lightly scoff at his jealousy-ruled words. Her teeth biting into her bottom lip.

They remained standing close to each other, exchanging more private laughter and murmured words with each other. When it was time, James kissed her forehead before they went their separate ways.

James finally settled on his bed, his eyes closed in the dark room except for the dim light he left on by his desk.

His ears picked up the sound of the door quietly opening and the delicate steps that followed after.

He felt her knees first brace on his bed and softly smiled, reaching to bring her in close under his sheets. Her soft cheek laid on his chest, her soft hair brushed against his chin, and her legs curled up against him.

His arm around her waist locked her to him.

"_Good night_," Lily barely whispered.

His lips remained peacefully curved. "_Good night._"

* * *

II.

"Severus."

Severus' dark eyes widened, as if shock had riddled him speechless from the up close vision of his first love.

He obviously hadn't been paying attention when he was walking, his mind dealing with his weighty thoughts.

Lily couldn't exit through the narrow entrance from the greenhouse without having to push him aside, so she decided to take two steps back, her face impassive. Waiting for him to move first.

But, he didn't. Such was the stupor he was in. His gaze instinctually fell over her. She looked almost the same. But, different. Her hair was longer. Her face was more angled than soft. But, her bright, green eyes were the same.

They're always so bright.

"Congratulations." He shocked them bother when he spoke, nodding towards her badge attached to her black robe.

"Oh. Thank you," she replied, taken aback as glanced down at her badge.

Finally realizing that he was standing there, gaping like a fool, he hastened to the side to let her pass first.

He had already turned the corner in to the green house when he heard her voice subdued by distance.

"I don't know if I've forgiven you. But, I don't want to have any malice in me... something I hope you can share with me."

He froze. Hearing her properly acknowledge him by speaking directly to him... he wasn't going to respond. He had nothing to say to her. He turned his head over his shoulder. And, she was already half the distance back to the castle. He turned back and began walking again.

"Lily! Brilliant."

His eyes narrowed in vexation as soon as he had recognized the sudden, irksome voice.

Black.

"_Thank you_." Lily paused as she watched him jog over to her. "What are you doing here?"

"James wanted me to pass on to you that he's running late- got stuck doing something in practice- he said he'd find you as soon as he can."

Severus curled his lips in disgust. Potter's arrogance never fails.

"That's fine. I can wait for him at lunch- care to join me?"

"Yeah. What were you doing out here anyway?" He looked over behind her at the fogged glass conservatory. The entrance may be open, but Severus' figure was never visible.

"Slughorn asked me to help restock his supplies of Valerian Sprigs." She showed him the vials she collected from her pocket. "I'm starting to think he's a little more than intimidated by Professor Sprout. I love when she gets frustrated though, I just stand there innocently while we both suspect him taking more than their agreed amount."

"We can consider that or that he's too lazy to come here himself," he shrugged, leaning his elbow on her shoulder as they walked on, their voices fading to Severus' ears.

Lily never spoke to Severus again from that day on to her death.


	9. Chapter 9

I.

_Her bike's footrests spun as she sailed past the open fields. The empty paved road paved besides them bordered them up close to the__ golden grass that grew taller than her, just as summer desired, blurring past her vision._

_She took a quick glance at her side and saw James right at her speed at the other side of the road on his bicycle, whooping from the exhilaration._

_Her bright laughter sung out into the bright skies. Her hair fluttered around her face, the wind roared in her ears. She felt light enough to start flying._

_They watched from a distance, black lambs grazing around the perfect meadow. The two of them wanted to go out and pet the lovely animals, but decided it wasn't worth the risk frightening them off._

_She rolled on top of him, perched over him as she caught her breath. Her palms rested on to his chest for balance while blades of bright green grass tickled their faces._

_He stared up at her, reaching for her to bring her down closer to him. She barely felt the strap of her dress slide down her shoulder, but was all aware of his touch when his fingertips carried the soft fabric back up to its place._

_"Do you love me?" he asked._

_A question that only held such an obvious answer._

_"Immeasurably so." She grinned teasingly against his lips, her forehead resting against his. "Do you love me?"_

_"Relentlessly."_

_The soft quacks from ducks paddling in a lake nearby sang in the air. Nature was endearingly all around them. Their utopia of peace._

_"...After graduation," he'd reveal to her, his thumb caressing her cheek. "__I want to take us away for summer."_

_"Oh, are we running away?" she asked, teasingly._

_"For a month or so. To unfamiliar open spaces."_

_"I just need you with me." His clear eyes held hers steady. "We can go to the countryside. Spend every day like this. Just us two."_

_"How terribly lonely." She smiled. But, it wouldn't be so very bad._

II.

Louis Turpin was desperately trying to get to Lily today- just trying to fray the delicate workings of her mind.

Surrounded by the backdrop of Professor Slughorn's sophisticated classroom, Ravenclaw's Quidditch team's seeker was urging Lily to let out a desperate scream in exasperation with his tireless teasing and inability to follow the most simplest of orders.

Four words. "_Pour the water in_," is literally just four words that he's purposely not following through with correctly. His way of coping with his least favorite class.

"Drain the potion out?" he asked for clarification, holding the flask up with a tilt.

"Drain the potion out _where_?" Lily's cry of frustration and lament had Louis beaming, impossibly elated, his cheeks drawn high.

However, he tempted her with good intentions. Louis Turpin, a boy with stylishly curling hair and warm darker skin was the least malicious person she's ever known and she's been good friends with him since they've been paired as dueling partners in fifth year. He was always the friendliest sort, especially with his almost permanent smile.

Which is why, despite all her anxiety almost reaching flooding levels, every time he laughed or poked, she felt the pull to join him.

"Here, put this in," she handed him a teaspoon filled with translucent bees wings.

"Thanks," he retrieved it and continued on with their conversation. "I'm not going to hand in a paper on Hengist of Woodcroft like a bloody first year."

She stifled a laugh in her throat. The founder of Hogsmeade was always a popular topic when students first learned of him.

"I think you can write your paper on anything you want."

"Oh, come on, Lily..."

"_All right_\- Hengist of Woodcroft. _But_, write a really good paper on Hengist... if you can try to take a different approach, differentiate yourself from what's probably the norm of Woodcroft papers delivered to Binns, you can surprise him when he thinks of your paper as another dull entry. And, you'll surprise him enough to give you a perfect score."

_"Dull entry," _he laughed at her complicated compliment regarding his future paper. He started tapping his pencil against the desk as he looked at her read the instructions while he began to think. "You've made a point, I'll not lie. Alright. Maybe I will write about him. I'll make it melodramatic, gripping..."

"All of my faith's in you," She focused back on the directions. "I think we'll have to start stirring now, if you please."

"You've got bit of -shite in your hair, did you know?" He pointed to his own head, angling his head.

"_Thank you... Louis..._" she drawled out sarcastically, not quite listening to him.

"No, I mean- hold on, stay still, don't hit me." There really was something there. He reached out and picked off a deserted bit of chopped mandrake root from the side of her head where her orange-red hair was pulled back and tied in a spiral above her neck.

She stayed patiently still until he picked it off and tossed it off to the ground before she can say anything.

"Litter-er," she lightly reprimanded. "But, thank you I suppose."

"I'll accept your thanks if you can persuade James to hand us a win this Saturday."

"Oh? But-" she began to propose gradually more cheerful. "-what if instead, I don't end up silencing your voice for the rest of the class after all of your rubbish questions?"

"They were required," he resisted, insolently.

"In what sense, mate?"

Instead of properly stirring, Louis lifted the flask and gave it a little shake.

"What are we supposed to do when it morphs to blue?"

"Blue..." She glanced down again at the open book. "Mmm... I don't think it ever mentioned anything about blue."

Lily stared at the glass as he set it back down. "Blue would be the byproduct of- wait, we have to _go **down**_-"

Lily abruptly shoved him to the ground, half dragging him to duck under the table.

An entire second later, yellow sparks and black clouds of smoke erupted, shooting up towards the ceiling.

_Oh no. _Her eyes glanced up amongst the startlements and coughs.

She heard wheezing besides her. Immediately concerned, she looked over at Louis hiding next to her. He was wheezing really severely.

"Oh God..." Then, he broke off in to hysterics.

His uncontrollable, maniacal laughter that bordered on shouting between his gasps, took over him.

And it continued to echo through the room while Slughorn strove for control over the smoke.

III.

"_BOOOO_!"

The shameless booing amongst the extraordinary, grandiose cheers for Gryffindor's latest goal threatened to rupture Lily's ear. She winced, her head bending away from Sirius, while some of their fellow housemates in the stands stared down at them, wondering why he was booing at his best mate's point.

He cupped his hands around his mouth, trying to shout at the Quidditch players who cut through the air with their speeding brooms. "TEN POINTS? YOU EXPECT ME TO CHEER OVER TEN POINTS, POTTER? CATCH THE SNITCH- _CATCH THE SNITCH!_"

He received a couple laughs. Remus even gave a few resounding claps with his brown leather-gloved hands.

Sirius straightened back, glancing down cheekily at Lily as he dropped his arm around her shoulders.

"Absolute tosser," she muttered, with a reluctant smirk peeking at the corner of her lips.

An arrow formation of red overtook Ravenclaw's chaser.

Lily's eyes were almost always focused on James from the start of the game. How he's able to fly and make it look so easy and coordinate with his team perfectly is really like a mathematical skill from her point of view.

She hooked her finger on an annoying lock of hair fluttering on her face, determined to pull it away.

And was gutted when someone flew by right in front of her face, making all her hair swipe across her face.

"Right."

If she had glanced away from James in that moment, she would have recognized that it was Louis who deliberately soared right past her, glancing back with cheek.

"What a bastard," Sirius grimaced when Ravenclaw got another goal in, the uproars echoing from the opposite stand, evening their score with Gryffindor.

"_Oh, here we go, here we go_," Frank Longbottom leaned closer, standing at Lily's right, when he spotted Johnson suddenly race through the sky, with Turpin right behind him.

Their play-by-play commentator didn't miss it as well and did his duty in causing an intensified frenzy amongst the spectators.

The two seekers swirled around the stand where the faculty sat before flying straight to the clouds. Too high to be seen other than by their beloved commentator who stared through his binoculars and screamed out any slight movement they made.

Is James grinning?

Why would he be grinning?

She glanced up at the white and grey clouds. He can hardly see anything better than her.

Seconds later, James sped up on his broom to approach his rival chaser.

"Are we placing bets yet?" Remus whimsically asked, willing to add a little more intensity to the atmosphere.

"I've got a galleon on Johnson."

"Would anyone in this box bet against Johnson though, Frank?" Alice asked from besides him, her petite face framed with her glamorous short hair tilting up towards him.

Sirius looked over to them, using his arm around Lily to help support him standing.

His hair flowed back around his profile from the wind- his cheek bones and elegant nose sharpening. "Loyalty doesn't make me any richer," Sirius conveyed to them, putting on his charm. "Two galleons on Turpin."

"_Make it three, Sirius_," Lily mischievously inspired him with a lazy smile and careless encouragement.

**"TEN POINTS FOR WENLOCKE OF RAVENCLAW!"**

Sirius tossed three, cold, gold coins away.

"Right, I wish I were dead," he remarked airily.

Frank caught them in his fist looking well pleased.

The roars coming from Gryffindors could only demonstrate their win.

Johnson had been the fastest by an inch, snatching the tiny flying orb right as he squeezed thorough one of the goal hoops. Lily had cheered proudly with the rest of their house, bouncing on her toes, her voice rising until her vocal cords gave out. She had squeezed Sirius and Remus tight enough to make them have to start audibly breathing in.

They headed down to congratulate James on the field, where he found them quickly.

Lily got swept in a great hug by an exhilarated James and soon found herself in the middle of a group hug Sirius and Remus welcomed themselves to. She laughed jovially, all of them taking in the high emotions on the pitch from the mass of students in maroon and gold.

"_Prongs, I'm going to need to borrow three galleons, mate,_" Sirius would shout over.


	10. Chapter 10

**I.**

"Give it here. C'mon."

James grinned when the student lamentably handed over his Ever-Bashing Boomerang with melancholy_._

His nose was pink from the cold, the grounds around them glistened with white snow in the chilling air.

Understanding the boy too well- having been in his place more than a few times, James gave him an uplifting grin.

"These things are weirdly pleasurable, aren't they? How about we give it two more turns? I'll call the last one?"

With an enthusiastic nod of confirmation, the second year gave it one last spin before handing it over. He and his friends who stood father back became the audience for their Head Boy as he aimed the banned product out to the outdoor quad, passing over a few heads of other students.

James had given it a right toss with a strong arm, and as it started to swing back to him, swiftly and with a sudden aim of his wand, James burst it into tiny flames.

"We need to try that," one of the other second-years suggested in awe. "I've got anoth-"

His words abruptly cut off, not because he had suddenly realized that James was watching them with a knowing grin, having heard him loud and clear, but from her.

"Why?"

The tired voice of Lily reached them as she walked over to their little group with her friend, Marlene, at her side.

Marlene was looking just peachy with her smile while Lily looked expectantly at the boys for an explanation.

Faint snow dust was swirling in the wind as they floated down from the blue-grey sky.

"Why what?" James asked, pleased to see her.

"That was a Bashing Boomerang, was it not? Item 312 on the _explicit_ list of objects forbidden inside the castle."

"Yeah, but it's not in the castle now, though, love, I've taken care of it," he answered, charmingly.

"It's fascinatingly interesting that it was out here in the first place though. I think, right, Marlene? We'd _really_ like to know how."

She blinked twice for effect. And, another one thanks to a wet snowflake briefly blinding her.

Seeing his students look a bit nervous, James draped his arm around his new friend's shoulders in a manner of support.

"Don't worry, mate, she's just jealous we left her out. Go on, yeah?"

Marlene wiggled her fingers in a friendly goodbye as he and his friends ran off.

"_I'm jealous_?"

He laughed brazenly and went over to her while she turned up her adorable nose at him. He stood behind her, his tongue peeking out at the corner of his lips as he crossed his arms over her chest, his chin resting on the top of her head.

They strolled to the West tower to visit the owlery.

James, Sirius, and Remus ran ahead, wildly laughing and taunting each other. Their uniform cloaks creating black splotches against the scene of rapidly falling snow.

Lily and Marlene weren't far behind, only lagging to gather snow balls in their chilly hands.

Lily carefully compressed the cold snow in her palm, aimed, and fired one at Sirius, brilliantly thumping him right on his back.

Who knew she had such a talent?!

Awestruck, Sirius decides to falsely accuse Remus, who had his back turned on him, and tackled Remus to the ground.

Lily was also quick to spare herself from getting hit by one of Marlene's own. Laughing madly, Lily decided to chase after James with plans to use him as a shield.

They burst into the tower with smiles from ear to ear, bright eyes, and competitive threats implying total carnage when they head back outside.

"You can't play favorites in a bloody snowball fight!" Marlene fought with James, shoving him aside with a grin as he toppled on to Lily, holding her shoulders to support himself upright.

Used to the scene of flapping, feathered wings and the little calls from the dozens of owls dozing, eating, or preparing for flight, they paid no mind but to their own owls.

"_He has every_ _right_ _to_," Lily defended him, bending down in front of James' owl and gently stroking his wings with the back of her finger. "A perfect gentleman."

"Oh please. You might not believe it, but he's still a dick. Part-time, now, I'll give him that. He just hides it from you, doesn't he," Marlene accused James.

"Please don't insult my owl," James purposely misinterpreted her insult as he bent down besides Lily with an arrogant grin on his face.

"McKinnon's not wrong," Sirius melodically agreed, handing over the spool of string to Remus as he prepared to tie a letter to his innocent and white, heart-shaped face barn owl.

"I admire this loyalty I'm witnessing towards your best friend, Sirius," Lily commented, watching James attach his own to his owl.

"It's an important principle of his," Remus mentioned with a smirk, sending his owl off. With a last flutter of its wings, his owl soared out the window to the grey-white sky.

"One of mine is my faith in a nice silencing charm."

"You've used up your quota for that this week, I'd say," Sirius acknowledged.

Lily quickly turned towards James to find out if he was telling the truth, searching his eyes through his glasses.

"What? What for?" Lily questioned James, her surprise clearly showing on her face as he glanced down at her. She thought that he had stopped his past habit of hexing students.

James had a few choices that immediately came to mind. He could lie and say it was an accident. Perhaps, leave out the reason why he did what he did. Or grant himself more time to decide by arguing with Sirius.

Settling for a stare towards Sirius that promised retribution, James confessed the latest incident to Lily- that it was Walden MacNair, who can't seem to learn how to keep his rotten mouth shut and how James thought it was the most _patient_ response of his to just temporarily steal MacNair's voice away when he was talking absolute shite.

(Sirius often finds himself constantly flipping on the perception of patience and cowardice.)

"He deserved it," Remus consolidated in his calm manner besides Marlene, showing his support for James.

He had heard what MacNair had said about Lily and muggleborns before and had no sympathy for him at all.

But, Lily still didn't like hearing about this.

"It's not like James permanently muted him," Marlene peacefully drawled out.

They watched James great owl flutter then soar out.

"Right, because I don't know how to."

Lily curled her lips downwards. "I'd rather you not be inclined to in the first place. _You're-an-authoritative-figure, _as we shan't forget."

"Please don't get upset up over it," he chuckled, leaning down to kiss the side of her head, as the rest readied to leave.

"Okay, I won't."

Sirius clapped his hands in finality, adjusting his shoulders to fix his cloak around his shoulders. "How sweet. Lily, you're on my side. I'm not quite fooled by your amenability so best we take advantage of that aggression outside."

Lily rolled her eyes, but followed after him. _Aggression, _she scoffed.

* * *

**II.**

"You have a strange penchant for coming up with ridiculous ideas, no offense, Lily."

"I am going to take offense, thanks."

"It's 6:07 a.m!"

"But, it's very hard putting a schedule together. You've got your own commitments and I've got mine."

"God help us all..." Alex Spinnet's voice muttered from the ground. He was sitting with his back against the table, her textbook laid open in his lap for early morning reviewing.

Lily bit down her amusement. She was lazily dressed in her uniform, having took advantage of the earlier schedule by not caring about looking perfectly put together. "Alex, I'm not even sure why _you're_ here, you're not taking our exam today."

"Because I've got to know this material perfectly while you're still here in school! I need to graduate next year," he ended in an obvious tone.

Louis laughed at Lily's tutored pupil, Alex's, answer, focused on his stirring of the cauldron on top of their table.

"Oh- look at that, thats a disaster," he alerted her, thinking that he's already making a mess of things.

Lily simply observed, not looking worried as the blue, murky, bubbling top grew and expanded. "How much did you add again?"

"Just a pinch," he reasoned, and reread the last few instructions aloud again.

"Oh shite, powdered. Not grains. Splendid," Louis quietly sighed out. "Does this mean we have to start all over?"

Lily stepped closer and stood on the tip of her toes, steadily watched the bubbles shrink in size, but begin to rush out more rapidly, already flooding over. "Ideally."

"But. It's not ideal for me."

Lily rolled her eyes, letting out a little snort. "Do you want to pass our exam today or not?"

With a splash and a hiss, the potion poured down the sink, cooled down with water.

Lily waved the black steam away.

With regret, Louis began to start the draught all over.

"I know, mate, I know. I know," Alex relayed his empathy. His brown curly hair bounced as he got up and passed his book over to her.

"But, you can't be slow this time either." She tapped the book against the edge of the table, but the slam emitted louder than she had predicted. With a slight wince, she went with it. "We're still practicing for a timed exam, gentlemen."

"She really tries to put the fear of God in you, doesn't she..." Alex muttered, starting squeezing out berry, pink juices out of the beetle. "Though she's got a point about you being slow, what kind of seeker even are you," he joked.

Louis chuckled, his feelings unscathed. His smile stood out, even with his head lowered. "Careful there, mate. Our last game was just a mishap. Next time, we won't be so easy on you."

He even asked Lily about her project with Remus.

She and Remus have saved themselves of having to go through any messes like the one they had just created here, she said with light relief. Because, in their case, if any spells alter the natural behavior of the microorganisms they have under the microscope, they just have to deal with the consequences in a microscopic level.

Alex followed their conversations well, asking about everything, with them finding no problem in explaining the backstory _of_ everything to him.

That is, until, Alex realized that Louis has a crush on Lily.

It wasn't loudly obvious, but, it was there. Subtlety, baffling, but he supposed not so baffling, there.

Does the bloke even know he has a crush on her? He questioned.

It was the little things that Alex paid sharp attention to. The way Louis' smile was always so wide for her, how his eyes followed her. More than occasionally glancing over at her, whether he knew it or not.

And, he's always trying to make her laugh, which Alex can vow by, is not that hard to do, so when they were laughing almost every minute, that's when Alex started thinking.

And, when Alex's eyes must have slowly and dramatically widened.

_Oh, _he silently voiced in his thoughts._ Oh... no._

It wasn't long until they heard a knock on the door. They were cleaning up when they looked over and saw James grinning by the open door, nodding his head to Alex and Louis first. "Alright? These two fight yet?" he asked the last question to Lily.

**Fucking hel- Don't** **look** **suspicious**, Alex dictated to himself. Making his face devoid of anything but a simple smile. His face is a tell all, his teammates all know this.

Lily playfully scoffed, packing her book inside her bag. "No. Why would they?"

"Politics," Louis _kindly_ explained as he cleaned the inside of the cauldron.

"_Ha_," she replied, mockingly.

She asked them if they wanted to head down to breakfast a little earlier with her and James.

Alex said he'll see them downstairs after going back to the common room and Louis said he's going to stay here a bit longer to study one last time.

Alex tried not to react to that.

"Sorry, I think I would have forgotten to meet you if you hadn't come up," Lily said to James as they walked out.

"It's okay, love," James smiled lovingly down at her, seeking her hand to hold between them.

Alex stealthily watched though his lowered gaze at Louis.

_Oh no indeed._

* * *

**III.**

Exams were passed.

The never ending cycle of assignments was slowing down, with the library getting less crowded.

This marked the arrival of the holiday season.

A time that students are able to enjoy with less of the usual tension that seeped from the outside world.

The Ministry of Magic had publicly arrested a dozen Death Eaters in a successful attack.

And, the current bout of peace that came from this suppression seems to be staying longer than expected.

The Daily Prophet was working through its high, printing out new details every day, genuine or exaggerated, about the corrupted souls of the men and women that were arrested. At every table during meals, groups of students would crowd over the wide opened papers to read about the details and trials.

However, tonight, Lily and James weren't in the Great Hall.

Standing under the archway a few steps away from Professor Slughorn's office, Lily held her invitation to this year's Slug Club Christmas Party behind her back with one hand, while her fingers from her other hand played with the white collar of his shirt tucked under his soft jumper.

Wreaths brightened with fairy lights and glowing sunset-colored lanterns hovered about the walls.

"I'm sorry you won't be able to stand next to me and listen to me _humbly_ brag about myself to strangers."

Her eyes were level to his lips when she watched them spread to his signature, immodest grin.

"What a lovely scene I'll be glad to miss," he snickered delightfully when Lily shoved his arm. "Just don't go chatting up any impressive blokes there, all right?"

He played with the curved ends of her hair. She looked like the night in her dress. Her low cut dress of dark blue velvet, held up by two thick straps on her shoulders, laid over her skin where bare lace adorned with shimmering, metallic-threaded diamonds covered her to the top of her arms.

"Don't tell me what to do," she replied swiftly with smiling eyes while he let out a forced laugh.

Other voices began to reach them, but they ignored it until James recognized one of them.

Regulus Black's subtle but clear impatience grumbled in the air.

His dark eyes, identical to his older brother, Sirius', were quick to center on James. And, only indifference arrived to Regulus' already present dominating emotion of annoyance as he spoke with his companion.

James Potter might be his brother's best mate, but he wasn't ever his.

James had barely spoken more than a sentence to him after Sirius left.

Since Sirius' name had been strikingly banished by their parents. When it was made clear that Regulus had decidedly chosen his side, set to erasing his brother's presence as his elder brother apparently so wished when Sirius abruptly walked out of his family.

Regulus gave a bored glance over at Potter's girlfriend. He's never spoken to her, but, as Slughorn's favorite star pupil, most Slytherins know of the red-headed muggleborn's decent intelligence and magical talent. Plenty of them try to discount Lily Evans as a fraud, but Regulus ignored the pointless, obviously jealousy-ridden slander. She's not an idiot. Attending Slughorn's regular club meetings with her proved that. But, it said something about her character, didn't it, dating a guy like Potter. She must not be as high and mighty as she proclaimed herself to be.

Regulus kept his silence until he went inside Slughorn's office.

"Well now you definitely want to come, seeing he's going to there," Lily said.

James lifted a dark brow. "Still not a chance in hell." He may not like Regulus much, but he'd appreciate not being around Slughorn's showy, puffed-up presence for more than that's required of him.

"Very well. Tragically, I'll leave you here then," she sighed, longingly. She left him with a soft kiss, letting herself enjoy his nice presence one more time before leaving.

James watched her present her invitation to someone behind the door, his hand unconsciously going up to ruffle his hair, and watched her get startled as she was approached almost immediately by a student wearing some green and white uniform, holding a tray.

Of course, that self-righteous slug would make inquires for butlers, James scoffed.

She didn't feel too bad about going to the party without him. James conducts himself with just a tiny more authority- and amusingly more arrogance, than the rest of us to really take a liking to Slughorn.

So, she accepted the drink offered with a happy thanks and turned her head to look back at James, sharing a secret smile with him before the door shut her little world away from his sight.

But it's never safe to assume to know all that he's about.

James is planning on accompanying her to the party.

Just about a half hour later, and was hoping to surprise her when he eventually went in.

In fact, her "plus one" invitation was already in his back pocket as he walked away, towards the night-darkened cloisters.

He just has another appointment to catch on behalf of the two of them with McGonagall.

One that could have been rescheduled, but, it just didn't seem worth it.

It doesn't take very long to tell McGonagall all that's been going on in the castle from their points of view.

"James? James Potter!"

Lily's happiness was infectious as she rushed over to him through Slughorn's collected, posh crowd.

A few guests looked and smiled at them two as she threw herself at him.

"What are you doing here? Oh, sorry," Lily put her hand up to her mouth. "I've still got a bit of tart to finish. Oh, your favorite. Come-"

"Mr. Potter, how good of you to come!" Horace Slughorn's jolly laugh came from his belly as he appeared behind Lily and heartily and sincerely shook James' hand. Let it be known that Horace Slughorn has always liked the boy. Fearless and admirably confident in his youthful strides.

What was only a pity was his truly unfortunate, eagerness to be ungovernable. Despairingly right from an early start. Such chaos hasn't ever really been compatible for Slughorn's health unfortunately. Yes, quite unfortunate...

But it's more than a pleasure to be able to have Mr. James Potter here now by association Miss Evans. A very agreeable match indeed.

James manifested an unbeatable, deceivingly good grin and let himself be perceived as being charmed by Slughorn and his attention. He couldn't help his half-suppressed, scoffing laugh, however, when Slughorn started making polite inquiries on James' own family and his descendants.

He tried to pull off his dodgy laugh as a show of modesty, but perhaps it wasn't as convincing. Lily had squeezed his wrist a little too much than he's used to liking.

"Professor- I hope you won't find it a lack of propriety of me whisking James away to introduce him- to," Merlin, she's forgotten the name of the Quidditch player, Lily quietly panicked. "-_your guest..._ well, for obvious reasons."

"Of course, my dear, of course! How selfish of me," he chuckled, with his hand on top of his chest. "Taking up all of Mr. Potter's time. Enjoy yourself, my boy! Miss Anand, from our own Holyhead Harpies, yes, I'm sure you've heard of them, should be- ah yes, I see her by the dessert table."

"Smashed it," he raised his hand, waiting for hers to hit his. "You're bloody brilliant, how did you plan it so?" James asked, affectionately, as they stood by the desserts, with James holding a plate while Lily piled on his dear treacle tarts for him.

She leaned forward when she whispered in his ear, "_I didn't_. Do you want to know how Slughorn's been describing me to his colleagues?" She began to laugh. "He's been introducing me as a sort of lost apprentice in need of a master."

James almost choked. What rubbish is the man spewing?

"I think it's his way of encouraging his friends to be more forthcoming."

"As if you needed it. You've most likely bewitched them all tonight."

"_But_, I've been carefully reorganizing- or maybe playing with his words, to just tell them I'm happy with having learning as my occupation for now."

With a crook of his brow, he gazed down at her, before cupping her face in his hands and kissing her cheek twice. "I love you. C'mon."

"Wait!" She tugged his free hand back. "I also have something else to say- thank you for coming," she spoke from her heart, her love clear in her bright eyes and smile as she looked up at his handsome face. "I love that you're here with me," she continued. "Especially when I'm sure you'd rather not be here."

"I planned on coming all along," he said- sheepishly for some reason.

He walked them over to a corner where they can enjoy each other privately. "There's no good to come from telling you this, but I'm not very good at telling you no."

He would do anything she asked him to do. The matter is that he doesn't fancy telling her- and her only- the word "no". He'd throw in a joke protest beforehand sometimes, but he would easily end up watching the Black Lake dry up if she ever asked him to.

Preferably with her besides him however.

She let him have the first bite of the tart in her way of warmly telling him thank you.

"And, how was your meeting with McGonagall?"

Almost in an instant did his happiness dimmer.

She watched his smile become more forced to stay up.

"It went alright." He barely shrugged.

"What's really happened?" she gently asked.

James moved to lean his shoulder on the wall besides her, partially eclipsing them in his shadow.

His head shook. "I missed you."

She leaned her head against the wall, wondering why the sudden diversion.

"And?" she said.

"What do you mean _and_?"

"You're a terrible liar." Lily bit the pastry off her fork. But she saw the glimmer of his eyes, his humor quick to return.

"_Oh bugger_."

When he left it like that, with the remnants of a happier tone in the air, Lily decided, before the mood fell again, that she supposed she can wait.

She can. She's never been the patient sort to drag the truth out of someone.

When he wants to tell her, he will.

In the meantime, she can march him around Slughorn's office and make him enjoy it. Until he caves.


End file.
